KK 4 and a half: Where Do We Go From Here
by AlmostxQueen
Summary: Takes place immediately after Power Play. After realizing what the Overtakers are up to, how will the Kingdom Keepers manage to stop them, while still carrying on with there normal lives? They've done it before and will do it again!
1. What's Next

**Author's note: This is a little KK fanfic I wrote that takes place right after the 4****th**** book Power Play because Ridley Pearson won't hurry up with the next book ****J **

**Rated: T (Just to be on the safe side)**

**I do not own Kingdom Keepers!**

The Keepers needed information if they were going to stop the Overtakers from stealing the Magic. Which is why they were all at Maybeck's Aunt Jelly's shop, Crazy Glaze. Mostly due to the fact that Jelly made the best snacks and they could really use something sweet to off-set their recent adventures. Crossing over was dangerous so they had wanted to lie low for a little while. But that dream only lasted a day. The time was coming closer for the Magic to launch and they needed to do something.

"All right here's what needs to happen. We need a main team, look outs, and back ups, incase somebody needs rescuing. I've already been in contact with Minnie, Pluto, and Ariel. They've made Cinderella's castle their home base, pushing the OT's over to Friontierland and Adventureland. Philby do you have the map?" said Finn. Philby nodded, pulling out a Magic Kingdom park map. But this one was different. It was a map of schematics, including places like the utilidoors and emergency exits. Wayne had sent it to Philby through a Cast Member. "We have to be cautious about this. We have to blend in with our surroundings."

"Oh come on, Finn!" said Jess. Finn was shocked. Usually this kind of outburst came from Maybeck. He wasn't expecting Jess to play devil's advocate.

"Jess we need to be-"started Finn.

"Cautious and careful blah, blah, blah! I think, if the OT's can have spies, so can we! Which is why me and Willa brought these!" said Jess. She went in her pocket and whipped out 4 pair's of Green contact lenses. Willa reached under the table and plopped a bag of wigs and costumes on the tables.

"What are those?" said Maybeck. He was mad that Jess had beat him to the punch of interrupting Finn's safety lecture but he had to admire her spirit.

"These," said Willa finally speaking up, "are disguises. We can use them to infiltrate the OT's hideout by blending in. We can get information. See, we have on good authority that Maleficent and Chernabog are taking their best henchmen and heading down to prepare for the cruise ship launch. That'll leave the Evil Queen and Cruella doing the dirty work."

"True," said Philby, slipping into his professor mode, "But after they came through for Chernabog and Maleficent they'll probably be second in command meaning that they'll be guarding the main hiding spot which is most likely Fantasmic again. Tom Sawyer Island probably got too tiny for them. Plus, all that access to fire and dangerous equipment would just be too good and opportunity for them to pass up"

"Right," said Willa with a curt nod, refusing to let Philby upstage her, "Which means there will be someone else in charge at MK. It's Dr. Facilier. You know, from that movie Princess and the Frog?"

"There's no way you could know that!" said Philby. If anything like this was real, HE would be the first to know…right?

"Well…"said Jess, "I kind of had a dream"

"What? Jess why didn't you tell me?" said Amanda looking hurt. They never kept this stuff from each other. And why had she told Willa?

"Because I wasn't sure it was true and I knew you guys wouldn't believe anything without hard cold proof. I called Willa because she's like, a Disney maniac! I couldn't figure out which character it was so I asked her. But, Mandy, I didn't tell you because I didn't want to worry you. Anyways, to get the proof, We talked to Wanda who talked to Wayne who did his thing and had it confirmed."

"I still don't see why we have to use costumes" muttered Philby, sounding defeated.

"Well because Finn's plan to just creep around without being seen won't get us anywhere except caught!" exclaimed Jess.

"Oh like playing dress-up won't do that?" challenged Maybcek, sauntering over to Jess.

"It's better than just waltzing along right into a trap, like usual," said Jess, not backing down. They were now standing face to face, eyes narrowed. Nobody else said anything, partly because they were intrigued, and partly because they were afraid.

"And how do you know that THIS isn't a trap? Just because you dreamed it doesn't make you invincible," spat Maybeck.

"And just because you bop around with snide remarks and a bitter attitude doesn't make you any tougher!" shot back Jess. Maybeck opened and closed his mouth but no sound came out. He was too mad to even form words.

"That has nothing to do with this!" Maybeck said, finally able to speak.

"It has everything to do with this! You refuse to believe in this! In any of it! Just because you can't figure it out, doesn't mean it's not real!" shouted Jess.

"Just because some freak had a dream doesn't mean we should be lead straight into danger just because they say so!" yelled Maybeck, furious. Everyone else gasped. Maybeck had said a few harsh things before but calling Jess a freak? Oh he was surely going to pay for that. Her eyes actually changed color slightly to a reddish brown shade. When she spoke, instead of being even louder than Maybcek, her voice was dangerously quiet.

"You know what! You swag around like your some big ladies man! But guess what! You're not! You couldn't even get Charlene to kiss you so you could break the damn curse and Philby had to step up and do it instead!" Jess stated firmly. Willa looked shocked and crest-fallen.

"Wh-what?" she said turning towards Philby.

"How did you know about that?" asked Philby, shocked. He had only kissed Charlene to save them-strictly business. He had never ever wanted Willa to find out. Jess opened her mouth to reply but Willa didn't give her a chance.

"So it's TRUE? You kissed Charlene!" she said, tears prickling at her eyes.

"Willa just-"

"Save it Philby!" exclaimed Willa. She turned towards Charlene, "And just because Finn doesn't want you and likes Amanda instead, doesn't mean you can just flounce around chasing after Philby! I thought you were my friend! You know how I feel about him. Of course," She said turning back towards Philby, " that was when I thought he felt the same way! If you didn't like me, all you had to do was say so!" And with that she pivoted and fled the room, sobbing. Philby trying to catch up, desperate to explain, chased after her. Charlene looked mad after Willa's remark.

"Charlie, she didn't mean that she was just-" started Amanda in an effort to calm Charlene down.

"Oh yes she did!" said Charlene, cutting her off, "But of course everyone could see it couldn't they! Finn chose some fairy over me! What'd you do, Amanda? Bewitch him?" snapped Charlene

"Oh I see how it is! A girl like me would have to bewitch a guy like Finn just to get, him right? That's the only way I could ever get him! Well guess what, sweetie! I don't have that kind of power! So maybe you should just hurry along and accept the fact that for once you can't get everything you heart desires! For the first time in your life, something is off-limits!" replied Amanda, not missing a beat.

"He's not off-limits!"

"Oh you're right! You just couldn't get him! No matter how tight your cheerleading skirts were or how much your Ta-Ta's were peeping out of your shirt!"

"At least I HAVE Ta-Ta's!"

"Oh that's it! I'm done with you thinking you rule the world! You're not the only girl in this group! You may think you're a princess but you're not. And guess what, when a princess can't find a suitor, she loses her throne!' and with that Amanda stormed out the front door and Charlene the back.

"I hope your happy!" said Jess to Maybeck, clearly not done, "You managed to wreck havoc in record breaking time!"

"Um the only reason this is happening is because of your dumbass plan!" replied Maybeck.

"You mean my good plan that you're to tall and proud to admit is actually smart. And guess what? When you step down from your high horse it'll be too late for I'm sorrys and regrets!" This remarked made Maybeck furious. But Jess didn't give him a second to reply. She hurried and followed her sister. She was tearing up which almost never happened. Jess was tough. It took a lot to get her to cry. Maybeck, seeing Jess walk away, couldn't handle staying in that room anymore. He ran up to his room. And then there was one. Finn. He just stood there for a few minutes, trying to digest what had just happened. Jelly came in shortly after, carry a tray with water and 2 tablets.

"What's this?" asked Finn

"It's Aspirin honey, because after hearing your friends go at it, I think you're gonna need some."

Charlene was in her room crying, wondering where she went wrong. Amanda wasn't crying, though she was very quiet and sullen. Jess was weeping softly, not wanting to wake up Mrs. Nash. Willa was a mess, taking deep breaths and trying to fix the pain in her chest. Finn was confused. He went home to his bed and laid down, exhausted. Maybeck, surprisingly was sobbing, though he claimed it was his allergies. But the loudest and biggest crying was coming from Philby. He was a pretty emotional guy and he felt absolutely awful. So awful, in fact, that he forgot to change the computer settings so they wouldn't cross over. After awhile, he was snoring. He had cried himself to sleep.

**Author's note: So please tell me what you think! I'll be writing more chapters so tell me what you liked and didn't like! Thanks!**


	2. Into The Fray

**A/N: SO this chapter's going to have a little more adventure in it!**

**Chapter Summary: Since Philby forgot to change the settings on his computer, everyone cross over. But with no one to manually cross them back over, how will they get home? Well they might just run into a few characters.**

**I own nothing!**

* * *

><p>Amanda was the first to crossover. She had willed herself to sleep, wanting to forget about the days events. She looked around, confused. Next appeared Finn. He was worn out. Right when he opened his eyes and saw Magic Kingdom, he knew something was wrong. Then came Willa in her heart Justice PJ's. ooking around to Amanda and Finn, she opened her mouth to speak. But just then, Charlene appeared, wearing a short silky nightgown. Their fight from the day before cut through the group. They gave one icy stare at each other and then turned away. Amanda just sat down. Then came Jess. Her enchanting eyes were now a crystal shade of blue and her cheeks had tear stains. Maybeck came less than 5 seconds after her. He was shocked, but not enough to break the stiff silence that was fogging all around him. Philby was last. He looked the worst out of all of them. His eyes were puffy and he was wearing the same clothes as yesterday at Crazy Glaze.<p>

"What happened?" he asked, oblivious to the tension.

"You tell us, genius!" said Willa curtly.

"I…I must have forgotten to change the settings on my laptop!" said Philby, shakily.

"But you can get us back, right?" asked Finn, worried. Given what Jess and Willa had told them about The OT's new hide-out and who was in charge, he was anxious to get them out of there.

"Uhh…about that," he said, slowly, "There might be a few complications considering we still don't have the fob and no one is home to give us a manual return."

"You mean we're stuck?" asked Charlene.

"Well this is just great!" said Willa. Looking up at Willa, as if seeing her for the first time since he arrived, Philby tried to explain himself.

"Willa, about earlier, I-" Philby started.

"I don't need to hear your details!" said Willa, forcefully, although her words didn't match the tears in her eyes.

"For goodness sake Willa there WERE no details!" exclaimed Finn , throwing his hands up. He was tired of all the drama and all he wanted was to get home to bed before something bad happened. "She crossed over to Epcot at night because the OT's were controlling her and after fighting off some goons in Norway, he kissed her just to get it over with! He didn't even want to kiss her! That's why Maybeck was going to do it, because he didn't want to do it because of you and I didn't want to because, I mean because.." his voice trailed off and he looked towards Amanda. But it didn't matter. Willa had heard enough.

"Why did I matter if you were gonna kiss Charlene?" she said quietly.

"Because you're the only girl I would ever dream of kissing, Willa. That's what I've been trying to tell you! I don't like Charlene!" said Philby, pleased to have finally said his bit.

"Philby. Look I'm sorry. I kind of freaked out it's just, how am I supposed to know whether you like me or not? You're always so…guarded, I just don't know what to do!" said Willa. For a moment it was silent and everyone thought for a moment that they were going to kiss. But Charlene broke the silence.

"Well I'm sorry too! Sorry that I bothered you!" said Charlene in a shrilly voice nearly an octave higher than her usual tone. Everyone looked surprised. Charlene just looked hurt. No one was sure who those words were directed to but she was staring right at Finn. When no one said anything she started walking towards the castle.

"I'm gonna um.. Check on her," Finn stated though he said it like he was asking a question.

"No," said Amanda firmly, "You get the others to the castle where it's safe and meet up with Ariel or whoever's guarding it. I'll talk to Charlene and bring her to the castle." she jogged after Charlene, knowing that it would come to this eventually. Finn could do nothing but comply.

"All right then. Let's head to the castle. Just make sure that we're being very-" said Finn.

"Cautious and careful," said Jess and Maybeck in unison, cutting him off. They looked at each other for a second then just as quickly, averted their eyes.

* * *

><p>Amanda found Charlene sitting on a carousel horse in Fantasyland. The carousel was turning around and around slowly. Without a word, Amanda climbed on and sat on the horse next to Charlene. For a while they just sat there, riding. Charlene was puzzled. Firstly because she hadn't expected Amanda to be the one to come after her. Deep down, she wished it would've been Finn although she knew that he really wasn't good with girls the way Maybeck was. She expected maybe Willa, because although they had a little fight, they were still friends and after what Finn had said about the whle misunderstanding, there was no way Willa could be mad at her. But the last person she ever thought they would send for her was Amanda. Amanda was so sweet and smart, which seemed a miracle if you thought about all she had been through. But she just sat there. No matter how much Charlene wanted to hate her, she just couldn't. Whoever they would've sent, Charlene would've expected them to send someone who would start right off with some big lecture, with a few love clichés tossed in. But there was something comforting about Amanda just sitting there with her, letting her be the first one to speak.<p>

"This is my favorite horse. The guy that works here knows me so he always lets me ride this one." Charlene started, "You know, I really didn't mean what I said last night. I mean…you're not completely flat-chested," said Charlene, not knowing where to start her apologies. Not there, she realized, after she had said that. But Amanda took it in stride.

"Thanks," she said with a smile, "I didn't mean what I said either. Charlene, you're a princess and you don't need a prince, to keep your throne. In fact, I think it's more your style for you to be at the top alone. Girl power and all that." Although it's not exactly what she wanted to say about all the Finn drama, it somehow seemed to say it all.

"Thanks," said Charlene smiling for the first time that evening. They stood up and hugged. They made some sort of agreement with that hug. That they weren't going to let Finn get in between them and that their petty arguments were stupid.

"And just because Finn's too shy to say this, I feel the need to. He likes you girl! He's just too afraid of what you'll say if he tells you." Charlene quipped. Amanda nodded.

"We should um probably get back" said Amanda, "They all headed for the castle to make a game plan." They hopped off the carousel.

"Well, well." said a deep woman's voice from behind them. They froze. Charlene knew this voice. _But no it couldn't possibly be_, she thought. They turned around. It was. Ursula came slithering down towards the carousel on her eight tentacles. Her lips in a snarl and her hair a gray tuft on her head. "Isn't this just delicious!" she hummed, "Friends forever, I suppose!" she cackled. Charlene didn't know what to do. She had never encountered Ursula before and she didn't even know how she was surviving out of water. Charlene tensed her legs ready to give Amanda a signal to run. But before she could, Ursula tossed out her hand and out came purple powder that just narrowly missed the girls.

"Follow my lead," Amanda whispered, a plan forming in her head. She darted towards the carousel. And Charlene followed.

"Going somewhere, prettys?" screeched Ursula. "Running is pointless! If however you were to give yourself up, we might be able to give you some sort of compensation. A reward perhaps?"

"We'll have to pass on that." said Charlene firmly.

"Your friends don't exactly come through with your promises," added Amanda.

"Suit yourself. You want to do it this way then fine! But running won't help you!" said Ursula, tauntingly. She came sliding towards the carousel. Amanda ran around the side and jumped. She beckoned for Charlene to follow but the carousel was slowly gaining speed. Despite Charlene's gymnastics training, she was afraid of heights. She managed gymnastics because of the safety precautions such as mats and roller coasters were no biggie because there were safety bars and emergency exits. But this out of control carousel was simply terrifying. Ursula was quickly coming towards her. She felt a tentacle wrap around her waste and pull. And then she was dangling over the top of the carousel, arms flailing and legs splayed. Ursula laughed that icy cackle that only she could. "Whatcha gonna do now, Princess?" she challenged.

"Amanda!" shrieked Charlene, barely able to speak because of the tight grip Ursula had around her waste. Amanda was scared. She had to do something. _But what?_ And then she knew.

* * *

><p>Finn and the others had just arrived at the castle and were met by Ariel and Eric, walking together and holding hands.<p>

"The Keepers?" said Ariel, puzzled, "We weren't expecting you tonight!"

"Yeah well uhh some stuff happened and now we're stuck here. We can't get back without the Return and the OT's still have control of it. Nobody's there to send us home manually." explained Finn. "Are we safe here?"

"Of course. We've been keeping the castle fully guarded at night who knows what they would do to it if we didn't," said Ariel. Finn took 'they' to mean the Overtakers. "Feel to stay here as long as you need." Ariel escorted the Keepers into the corridor.

"You two are still together?" asked Willa then immediately blushed for her outburst. When she first met Ariel, she had wondered if Eric was cheating with another Ariel while the real one sat there lonely at Hollywood Studios. Ariel just chuckled.

"Yes of course," she replied.

"But I mean aren't there you know…"stammered Willa.

"Ditzy cast members come and go but me and Ariel are forever," said Eric deeply, while gazing over at her. Ariel giggled and blushed. Willa sighed. _How romantic_, she thought. Jess sat down.

"Let's wait here until Amanda and Charlene come," she said.

"They're not with you?" asked Ariel, looking worried.

"They will be," Willa assured her. _At least I hope! _

* * *

><p>"Hang on Charlene!" shouted Amanda. She focused all her energy on Ursula. Bringing her hand up, she pushed hard. The carousel started spinning. It twirled faster and faster. Charlene looked worried. Ursula looked sick. Charlene knew what she had to do. <em>I have to time this perfectly<em>, she thought, _or else it won't work. _The carousel's speed only got faster. Ursula released her grip on Charlene to keep from flying off the carousel. Charlene closed her eyes and pictured herself at her gym, practicing a perfect dismount. There was no mat. She had to do this all on her own. If something went wrong, she'd be lucky to come out with just a broken bone. She closed her eyes and jumped. She did a perfect front flip in the air and landed with her knees bent and her arms out in front of her. She opened her eyes and looked down, checking for any injuries. There were none. She spun around, just in time to see Ursula get thrown off of the carousel. Amanda released her push, exhausted. Ursula was thrown at least 100 feet into the air and landed somewhere near the Tomorrowland Speedway.

"Are you okay?" Amanda asked, concerned.

"I think so. Are you?" asked Charlene.

"Yeah just a little tired," replied Amanda. The two girls looked at each other and started giggling like crazy, happy to be alive. They linked arms and headed towards the castle.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So thanks for all the positive comments guys and I'd really like some more feed back. I'll be posting the next chapter shortly!**


	3. The Return

**A/N: all right so here's the next chapter. The one after this may take some time because of school but we'll see! Thanks for all the positive reviews ****J**

**Chapter Summary: The Keeper's attempt to get home by getting the Return. But what will happen when a villain comes to ruin their plan?**

**I do not own anything**

* * *

><p>"Finally!" said Willa., "What took you so long?" She rushed over to Charlene's side.<p>

"Trouble," said Amanda.

"We ran into Ursula," explained Charlene.

"The sea witch?" asked Ariel worriedly. Finn not so casually went over to Amanda's side.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Yeah thanks to Amanda," said Charlene, grinning gratefully.

"Oh please! Your gymnastics was all you needed," said Amanda, not comfortable with taking all the credit.

"Why don't we go upstairs where it's safer and you can talk more," suggested Eric.

"I don't think the apartment's big enough for all of us…" said Finn.

"Well it is but I wasn't planning on taking you to the apartment," said Eric, mysteriously. Without further explanation, he turned and continued down the corridor, turning in front of the sign for Cinderella's Royal Table. He quickly ushered them all up the stairs and into the dining room. Sitting in the middle of the restaurant were Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Fairy Godmother, Snow White, and her prince. They looked up when the Keepers entered.

"Oh! We thought you were Mulan and the guards coming to check in," exclaimed Cinderella.

"Oh! Cinderella!" shrieked Charlene, running over to her. She cooed and giggled at Cinderella and her outfit, asking her questions like "Is Prince Charming really that Charming?" and "Does your fairy godmother still make you dresses?". _Figures that she would be Charlene's hero_, thought Jess. Jess rolled her eyes. She had a personal issue with Cinderella and her values. _You sneak out of the house you've been stuck working in all your life and instead of running away, you go to meet a Prince, then leave him, go back to the house, then wait for him to come for you? Nu uh! _Once everyone had settled down, they got straight to business.

"Philby, is there any way you could do a manual return without your laptop? Can you use your phone or something?" asked Finn, searchingly. _There has to be a way out_, he thought. Philby shook his head.

"No not that I can think of. Our best bet is the fob," said Philby, grimly.

"Well then we have to find a way to steal it back. There's only one fob and the OTs having it is not acceptable!" said Maybeck, determined.

"What are the OTs? asked Snow White. "Are they some type of group or band?"

"Uh. No. See OT is short for Overtaker," said Willa. When Snow still looked confused, Willa explained, "They're the bad guys. The villains. Like Ursula and Maleficent and the Evil Queen."

"The Evil Queen?" shrilled Snow, going paler than usual, "Is she here? Did you know she tried to kill me?"

"OHMYGOODNESS!" exclaimed Philby, looking frantic and pleased with himself. Everyone turned towards Philby.

"I know right!" said Snow, thinking he was surprised by the atrocity of the Evil Queen trying to kill her.

"No, not that," said Philby shaking his head at Snow. He turned to the Keepers, "I just had an idea. What happened that one time when security was coming for us when we were in Wayne's apartment and we needed to leave?"

"He used the fob," said Willa.

"But it wasn't the real fob. It was-"

"A back-up! Philby you're a genius," said Willa, hugging him. Philby blushed.

"But wait! Wayne doesn't live there anymore!" said Finn.

"But maybe he left the fob for us!" said Charlene, hopefully.

"We have to try. It's the only lead we have," said Finn, "But we need to break up into small groups. If we all walk together, the OTs will just surround us. I'll go with Maybeck, Philby and Willa can monitor from the castle apartment, Amanda-"

"I'm going with you," interrupted Amanda.

"Amanda, you are one of the OT's main targets! If they can control you, they can use all the power you have combined with their powers," explained Finn.

"I don't care. If you run into any OTs, being a pure DHI won't be enough and it certainly won't last long enough for you to get in, search, and get out. I can hold them off if we run into trouble. I'm coming with you!" Amanda said.

"Uhh well… you know.. . I would but… three would just be too many. It would just draw attention to us," sputtered Finn.

"Oh well that's all right. Amanda can go instead of me. I'll just stay here and keep the ladies company," said Maybeck slyly, giving a wink in the princess' direction. The princes looked amused, as if the thought of Maybeck with any of the princesses was laughable. Jess scoffed.

"Oh please. They are so out of your league," she said sharply. Maybeck just cocked his head towards Cinderella and did a hair flip. Cinderella giggled. Maybeck smiled, though he wasn't quite sure if she was laughing with him or at him.

"All right fine. Me and Amanda will go. But Charlene and Jess, you guys wait 2 minutes then go and hide in a place close to the apartment. If there's any trouble, go back and get help! Philby and Willa, go up to the apartment on top of the castle and monitor what's going on. If you see something, send someone for us but tell them to be careful. No matter what, we meet back here in 15 minutes. If one of us isn't back by then, we all go searching for them. We don't go out alone. Maybeck, you can stay here and strategize with the rest of the team." Finn ordered. He shot a glance at Maybeck, wondering if he would protest. Maybeck caught his eye.

"Dude, this plan is a-okay with me," said Maybeck, motioning to the princesses.

"All right then. Let's go," said Finn.

* * *

><p>Amanda and Finn were slowly slipping through the darkness. Finn was anxious. <em>What if the Overtakers suspected we would come and search Wayne's apartment? What if this is a trap? <em>They walked silently towards the apartment. Once they reached the apartment, Finn looked around to make sure the coast was he was satisfied, he put his hand on the doorknob and pulled. It didn't open. _Damn! Why didn't I think of this? Of course the door would be locked and we have no key! _Finn paced back and forth, wondering what to do. But Amanda glided over to the door.

"Brilliant," whispered Finn. "Try using your push!"

"Actually, I was just gonna pick the lock," replied Amanda. She slid a bobby pin out of her hair and stuck it through the keyhole. She wrestled with it for a minute or so until it opened. She slipped the bobby pin out and put it back in her hair.

"All right," said Finn, " We have eight minutes until we need to get back to the castle. Let's look around." They walked through the door. But when they walked in, they gasped. There was no more furniture. Glasses and vases were shattered on the floor, and the only thing still in tact were the curtains, and even those were torn. The apartment was trashed.

* * *

><p>"Ow! That's my foot!," said Jess sharply from behind a bush.<p>

"Sorry!," replied Charlene, "Ugh! This is going to just ruin my hair!" she complained.

"Dude I cannot believe you just said that," said Jess disgusted. They were hiding behind a large bush near the apartment. They had watched as Finn and Amanda slipped through the door and were now surveying the area.

"So. What's the deal with you and Maybeck?" asked Charlene, batting her eyelashes innocently.

"Excuse me?" said Jess.

"Oh please. Don't give me that! I'm not blind!" Charlene said pointedly.

"Clearly you are if you think there's anything going on between me and Maybeck besides hate. Besides, he's more your type," replied Jess. Charlene laughed.

"My type? Oh please! I can see it now! The Cheerleader and The Player," she was cackling with glee, barely able to catch her breath.

"I don't see what's so funny about it! You'd be, like the perfect couple. You both play the fields and you can both get just about anyone," reasoned Jess, avoiding Charlene's eyes. Charlene calmed down a little.

"Nah! I need a special guy. One to treat me like a princess. And I don't have the strength to tame him. But," said Charlene, glancing at Jess, "that doesn't mean it can't be done."

"I don't want to tame him! He's so arrogant and rude and not nearly as cool as he thinks he is!" Charlene just gave a sly smile.

"All right, whatever you say," she said, " Just know that-"

"Shhh!" said Jess, "Do you hear that?" There was a rolling noise. Quiet, but getting louder and louder. Jess held her breath, not daring to look up. There was a low popping noise. It was coming closer.

"We have to get back and tell the others to send help!" whispered Charlene.

"But we can't leave Finn and Amanda!" protested Jess, "Plus, if we run for the castle, they'll just capture us too!"

"We don't even know what they are or how many of them there are!" argued Charlene.

"I command you to stop! I am emperor Zurg! You shall do what I say or suffer the consequences!" said the robotic voice of Zurg. Jess's eyes went wide. She started slowly crawling through the bushes, hoping that the undergrowth would be enough to cover them. Charlene followed. "FREEZE!" shouted Zurg, hold his laser out, "You cannot run from me!" His laser was pointed at the bushes they were in.

"We have to warn them!" whispered Jess. Giving up on hiding, she stood up and broke into a run. Charlene followed with Zurg hot on their heels.

* * *

><p>Willa and Philby sat in the castle apartment checking for danger. Willa was nervous being there alone with just Philby. She was afraid to do something wrong or say something weird. But at the same time, just being around him was nice.<p>

"I love it up here. It reminds me of rock climbing. Things just seem so much simpler up higher," said Willa, dreamily. Philby nodded.

"Yeah I know what you mean," he said. Being a fellow rock climber, he knew all too well how easy it was to see clearly up high. They sighed and gazed through the window. He wasn't sure if he was just tired of waiting around or if it was being extraordinarily high off the ground with Willa, but he suddenly become bold.

"Listen Willa. About what you said earlier. I mean, I'm only guarded well because I mean I like you. A lot. But I just could never tell how you felt about me. I mean you're so cool and brave and I'm just the nerdy computer guy," he said in a rush. _Is he kidding_, thought Willa. _He's by far the most amazing guy I've seen. And there is NOTHING nerdy about that accent! _

"Dell," said Willa, using his real name for the first time, " You are the coolest guy I know." She looked up at him, smiling.

" Really?" he asked.

"Yes really," she said, and laid her head on his shoulder. He blushed, but it was a blissful kind of blush. Willa looked at him. _Are we finally gonna kiss_, she thought. He was looking out the window but then suddenly turned to her. _Yes! He's leaning in! _

"Do you see that?" he asked her quietly. Willa deflated. _I guess not!_

"See what," she asked.

"There's someone out there!" exclaimed Philby. There was. It was a dark figure. "It's coming from Tomorrowland!" As it turned on to Main Street, Willa could just make out its face. She gasped.

"It's Zurg! Buzz Lightyears like mortal enemy! C'mon! we have to send help!" said Willa, frantically. They rushed back to Cinderella's Royal Table dining room, where Maybeck was striking out with the princesses, who only wanted to talk and cuddle with their princes.

" We need to send help! Zurg! From Buzz Lightyear! He's going and he's headed towards Charlene, Jess, Finn, and Amanda!" said Willa.

"I'll go!" said Prince Charming, stepping up to the challenge.

"I'll come with you!" said Snow White's Prince, the Charming Prince (Not to be confused with Prince Charming), Not wanting to appear meek. Prince Charming already got enough of the glory as it was.

"I'd better go too," said Eric, "All right. What's our strategy!"

"Now, now boys. The answer is right in front of you faces. The hero should fit the villain," said the fairy godmother calmly. _What in the world_, thought Willa. She and Philby exchanged a look. The princes looked puzzled. Even Cinderella looked confused.

"But of course," chirped Snow, "Buzz Lightyear is incredibly brave!"

"Of course!" said Philby, ashamed Snow White had been the one to figure it out, "We have to go get him!"

"All right then! Gentlemen, follow me! Bring your swords. It could get dangerous!" ordered Prince Charming as he exited. The Charming Prince, Eric, Philby, and Maybeck followed. Willa tried to follow, but the Charming Prince stopped her.

"Fair maiden, stay behind. We shall take care of everything," he commanded. Willa sat back down with a grumble, muttering under her breath.

"Wow, how very brave of them," said Cinderella, lovingly. Snow White nodded in agreement. Willa and Ariel on the contrary did not look all that excited to be staying behind.

"Dear child," said the Fairy Godmother turning to Willa, "you have a fierce spirit. What is your name?"

"Willa," she replied.

"Willa," repeated the Fairy Godmother, "a fighter indeed. You are very brave and wise, 2 very good qualities." The Fairy Godmother's praise seemed to give Willa a rush, and suddenly, she didn't mind being left behind.

* * *

><p>Amanda and Finn were quickly scanning the apartment, looking for any sign of anything helpful. The Return was not there. Finn was growing frantic, refusing to believe the truth of the situation.<p>

"It has to be here somewhere!" muttered Finn to himself, "He must've left us something!"

"Finn, I think I found something," called Amanda. Finn nearly ran over to where Amanda was. Taped on a cabinet was a piece of paper that read:

acnslWtetUstu a el

"It must be an anagram!" said Amanda.

"How do you know it's not a cryptogram?" asked Finn.

"Because, it has caps in the middle of the word. How many words do you know that have 2 caps in the middle of it?" challenged Amanda.

"Good point," said Finn. Finn grabbed it and folded it, putting it away in his shirt pocket, "When we get back to the others, we'll try to solve it." Just then, Jess and Charlene came bursting through the door, panting. They quickly shut and locked the door.

"What are you doing here?" asked Amanda.

"Zurg," said Jess between pants, "He's here! Shooting stuff! At us! Headed this way!"

"Zurg?" asked Finn.

"Buzz Lightyear's enemy!" explained Charlene. Finn and Amanda nodded.

"Well what should we-" said Amanda. But she was cut off by a bang. Someone was trying to burst through the door.

"Open up!" shouted Zurg, "Or I will be forced to unleash my army!"

"Shit!" said Jess.


	4. Battling Zurg

**A/N: I know, I know, this chapter isn't as exciting but it's a necessary connecting chapter and since school's out, I should be posting more frequently. Thanks, please review!**

* * *

><p>Willa was staying with the princesses and it felt pretty mush like babysitting, especially with all the questions Cinderella and Snow White kept asking. Ariel and the fairy godmother were apparently the only one capable of keeping her mouth shut for more than 2 minutes.<p>

"So," said Cinderella, "Where did you meet this Philby fellow? At a ball?"

"Um no," said Willa uncomfortably, "We don't really have balls anymore."

"But then how does a prince pick his princess?" asked Cinderella, confused.

"What kingdom is your prince from?" asked Snow White.

"Um Philby's not-" Willa started.

"When will you be crowned princess?" asked Cinderella. This was just too much for Willa. Before she transferred to the school she and Philby went to, she was always picked on for being a nerd. She was left out at every dance, and although she had a few friends, they just didn't understand why she hated it there so much. When she moved to her new school, everything changed. Yes, she was technically still a "nerd", so was everyone else. She may not necessarily be deemed pretty, but she definitely wasn't ugly. But Willa didn't want to be reminded of her lack of princessy quality.

"Just stop! I'm not a princess, and I'm never going to be one! I'm too plain and not nearly pretty enough!" said Willa, letting her anger explode. She went to go sit in a corner, not wanting to be around the princesses. _If they want to be pretty little airheads, fine let them. I don't care! _

"Willa," said Ariel softly.

"Go away," said Willa.

"No. We really need to talk," Ariel replied, "I'm sorry about those two," she said, "But they're princess, we're princesses. Balls and princes are all we know. But Willa, you are not plain. You are beautiful in that one way that only you could be beautiful in." Willa turned slowly, to face Ariel, showing her tear stained face. Ariel hugged her.

"Oh sweetie!" said Ariel, like a big sister would. Willa had always wanted a big sister. But that had never happened. They just sat there like that for a while, hugging and rocking back and forth.

* * *

><p>"Don't just stand there!" exclaimed Jess, "Help us!" all four of them pushed against the door, trying to keep Zurg out.<p>

"It's no use! Him and that stupid blaster are going to get through! We need a plan!" said Charlene

"All right fine. I'll hold them off, you guys make a run for it!" said Finn.

"Like hell you will! That blaster thing will go on and on probably for 10 minutes straight and there's no way all-clear will last that long and I would rather not go on a rescue mission tonight," snapped Jess.

"Well we can't just wing it!" said Finn, exasperated, "Do you have a better idea?"

"I could-" said Amanda

"Absolutely not!" said Finn and Jess in unison.

"Oh for goodness sake I'll only use it if I must. When he leans on the door to try and bust it open we move to the side, then make a run for the castle, all right?" said Amanda. Jess winced. Running was not exactly her favorite sport and she really couldn't run that fast for very long. In gym class, she would always go to the nurse, or help out with the scoring and equipment in a desperate attempt to get out of gym. She reluctantly nodded, silently approving the plan. They waited until they heard robotic wheels starting up and coming closer. They all waited then, at Finn's prodding, they stepped aside. The door flew open and Zurg tumbled inside, crashing into what used to be a coffee table. As soon as Zurg flew past the kids, they were off at a run. The sprinted for a little while with Zurg not far behind. But they became winded and paused for a second, looking around. But something wasn't right. Up ahead, there was a larg patch of green, tall grass that appeared to be moving. Under closer inspection, the kids realized they weren't grass, but little green alien trinkets. Under other circumstances, these things would be considered cute, but after the recent events, they were terrified. The fact that they spoke in unison was even creepier. Worst, Zurg was right behind them and they were currently surrounded by alien midgets.

"What do we do?" asked Jess.

"Let's try to take them out and make a path to get through!" said Charlene. _Easy for her to say_, thought Jess, _She's a gymnast. _The aliens moved in on the kids. Finn kicked 3 of them, sending them flying. Charlene did a round-off back handspring back tuck, sending at least 5 of them flying. _Whoa, this actually looks satisfyingly fun_, Jess thought. Not wanting to miss out, she punched through a row of aliens, knocking them down. Amanda, not wanting to waste her push, slapped down aliens, 2 at a time.

"Don't let them get away!" shouted Zurg. Despite the progress the kids were making, Zurg was gaining on them. No matter how fast they moved, Zurg was going to catch them. Amanda was growing worried. _I know Finn doesn't want me to _use my push, she thought,_ but this is kind of an emergency!_ Concentrating all her energy, she used her mind to push against Zurg. She took out at least 100 aliens and Zurg flew through the air, landing on his back. Weary from that work, Amanda's knees were weak. She wasn't able to run as fast as usual. Finn, worried she wouldn't make it, threw her on his back, piggy-back style, and told her to hold on. At first they thought they were good, the entrance to the castle creeping closer. But, as if he appeared out of nowhere, Zurg popped up in front of them. Raising his weird futuristic gun, he prepared to fire.

"I am Buzz Lightyear of Star Command!" shouted a voice in the distance, "Zurg, your under arrest!" The voice was, of course, none other than Buzz Lightyear. Dashing towards them with flare, he lifted up the flap on his arm and shot Zurg with his laser.

"Wha-?" asked Amanda.

"No time to explain!" said Philby, "c'mon, we have to get back to the castle!" They all hurried into the castle. As they slipped inside, Finn stole one last glance behind him. All the little aliens were laying on the ground and Buzz and Zurg were full-on battling.

Finn walked back to Cinderella's Royal Table room. He placed Amanda down gently in a chair, then went to sit next to her.

"Should we go help Buzz?" Finn wondered.

"No, dear I don't think so," replied the Fairy Godmother, "I honestly think they're happiest when fighting."


	5. Cracking The Code

**A/N: sorry for the delay guys and sorry for the short chapter. Thanks for all the positive reviews and feedback. I hope you like it.**

* * *

><p>And so, the Keepers once again found themselves in Cinderella castle. Finn whipped out the code he had found in Wayne's apartment.<p>

"Hey where are the princesses?" asked Maybeck.

"Well the princes decided to take them on a romantic stroll thorough Fantasyland to see where Mulan and her patrol went," said the Fairy Godmother serenely. Maybeck looked disappointed.

"Okay guys," Finn said, interrupting Maybeck's pout, "Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

"Does it matter?" Maybeck asked.

"Of course it matters," Charlene chirped, back to her overly perky self. Maybeck rolled his eyes._ Cheerleaders_, he thought. _That's why I can't have long term relationships with them, they are just too fucking peppy, even when something bad has happened._

"No believe it or not, big head's got a point," said Jess, jerking her thumb toward Maybeck. Maybeck was happy that she was defending him, until he thought about it for a second and realized she'd just insulted him.

"Big head?" he asked.

"How so?" asked Philby, ignoring Maybeck's comment.

"If we get the good news first, the bad news will completely ruin it, and if we get the bad news first, the good news will most likely seem mediocre or disappointing," said Jess wisely.

"She has a point," muttered Willa.

"Oh for goodness sake!" snapped Amanda, "Just say the news!" She liked Finn but sometimes he could make things longer then they needed to be.

"All right all right," said Finn, holding his hands up in mock defeat, "The remote isn't in the apartment but we did find this." He showed them the anagram.

"Another anagram," said Philby.

"Wow good observation! By the looks of it, we have ourselves a bona fide genius," Maybeck said sarcastically. He was tired of all these codes and clues. They took up precious time and he was more of an action guy. Maybeck rolled his eyes, tired and weary from the night's actions. "Why can't Wayne ever be straight forward? What ever happened to 'Yo! The remote's in the such and such!'" grumbled Maybeck.

"Okay you guys! We need to make words with these letters!" said Amanda.

"Wait!" said Maybeck, pulling out his Ipod touch, "I think I have an App for that!" Everyone giggled at his remark, although they weren't sure if he was joking or serious.

"There will be no need for that young man," said the Fairy Godmother. She stood in front of them and with a flick of her wand, the letters were written in gold in mid air, "That should help!" she said swiftly.

"Whoa!" said Willa, "That's so cool!" She reached out and touched them, finding she could move them around as she pleased.

"Charlene your up," said Philby, remembering how good she was at this. She bounded over to the letters and looked at them thoughtfully for a second. Then, she quickly jerked her hands up and began moving the letters. Her hands moved around in a blur making amazing combinations. But none of them seemed quite right or logical.

"You guys, we were being so stupid!" said Finn, jumping up suddenly. "What do Wayne's clues all have in common?"

"They're all codes?" asked Amanda.

"They're all discreet?" Jess said.

"They all represent something other than they say?" tried Philby.

"They're all so hard and complicated," Maybeck said.

"No! no! no! And really?" Finn said glancing at Maybeck, "They are all about Disney! We should've started with Disney words and what are the 2 words that are probably the biggest suspects?" Finn glanced around waiting for someone to answer. Yeesh, he thought. Is this how teachers feel?

"Walt and Disney, Philby said at last, seeing as nobody else was going to.

"Exactly," said Finn. Walking over to the letters, he spelled out Walt with the letters.

"Now we just need to find the other words," he said.

"Whatever," said Maybeck. He cupped his hands over his mouth, as if he was about to tell a juicy secret , "I think the old lady knows something. I say we get her to spill," he said in a not-so-soft whisper, pointing towards the Fairy Godmother.

"Are you calling me old?" she said from across the room.

"If the shoe fits," Maybeck said, ironically.

"I'm not the one groaning about! You sound like an old man!" The fairy Godmother shot back. Maybeck shut up after that, knowing when a battle was lost. The Keepers stifled their laughter. _I always did like her,_ thought Jess. The moment was killed by Willa racing up to the letters, and quickly re-arranging them.

"Willa," asked Amanda, "What are you doing?"

"Uncle!" she shrieked enthusiastically.

"What?" said Jess.

"Uncle!" she turned towards the Keepers. "What does Wayne always call Walt Disney?"

"Umm Walt Disney," said Jess.

"Uncle Walt," answered Finn, "Your right. That means it must be something of his." He added an S to the end of Walt to make it a possesive proper noun.

"We just need the last word an we're good," said Charlene excitedly. Taking her place back in front of the letters she scrambled the remaining letters again and again until she finally stepped back to show everyone. Everyone was awe-struck.

"Do you think it means the one in front of the castle?" asked Willa.

"Oh yeah," Philby nodded, "It has to be that one."

"Well let's go then! We're burning moonlight and I'd like to actually sleep a little tonight," said Jess. She headed towards the door with Maybeck right behind her. The others reluctantly followed. The castle dining room was empty. In the air were the letters in gold that spelled: Uncle Walts statue.


	6. I'm So Out of Here

A/N: All right guys! Next chapter. I really hope you like it and I'm sorry that it's been taking a while to write and also thank you so much for all the reviews.

* * *

><p>"Uhh guys," said Maybeck, "There's just one small problem. If it is in the statue, How do we get it out?"<p>

"That," said Finn, "Is a very good question." They all gathered around the statue and examined every angle of the statue. Philby, of course, took the nameplate towards the bottom. He read it over and over again. _We must be missing something_, he thought. Then, something caught his eye. A flicker of shine. He bent down and looked directly at it. Upon very close inspection, he saw the small outline of a hand. Reaching his hand out, he curiously matched his up with the one on the nameplate.

"Ow!" he said, ripping his hand off.

"What happened?" asked Willa.

"It..it shocked me. I don't know wh-" Philby stopped mid-sentence to watch the nameplate. It was slowly moving. It swung around and turned to what was supposed to be the back of it, but was really a key board with letters.

"Sweet!" Maybeck said.

"What do you think the code is?" asked Charlene. Philby sat there typing in a few basic codes while Willa stood next to him offering suggestions. Finn was growing anxious. They were all outside in the open, after all and all though they could still hear the Buzz Vs. Zurg battle in the background, there could definitely be other OTs watching them. Philby threw his hands up, frustrated. He wasn't used to not being able to figure things like this out and it was irking him.

"I give up!" he said, "Someone else can take a turn!" Everyone looked at Finn, although Finn didn't know why. He wasn't exactly the quickest to catching on but it probably had to do with Wayne and his Finn being a leader theory. Not wanting to waste time thinking about that, he padded forward to try and figure out the code. W-A-Y-N-E, he tried typing in. The red light flashed showing he was wrong. D-I-S-N-E-Y, he tried again. Red light. Wrong again. As he kept going he grew more annoyed. He tried everything he could. It got to the point where he was just trying random words that associated to Disney and Wayne, no matter how loosely. _This is impossible_, he thought. _Why the hell did Wayne make it this hard?_ He thought back to any conversation he and Wayne had ever had, hoping he might've left him a clue. His mind settled on when Wayne had showed him VMK was indeed still open, right before their little adventure at Animal Kingdom. _He told me to use Walt Disney's name backwards_, he realized. Y-E-N-S-I-D-T-L-A-W. Ding! Green light. He pumped his fist in the air in a show of victory. The concrete right under the name plate slid out to reveal a little button that looked like a garage door opener. The fob. They all cheered. The nameplate swung back around. Maybeck reached out his hand to press the fob.

"Wait!" said Finn, "If we cross back over here, then the fob will stay right out in the open."

"You're right," said Willa, "Let's put it in the apartment like we used to,"

"But what about Amanda and Jess?" said Maybeck, "They don't how to get up the Keep!"

"Well I don't remember how to get up either," said Charlene coming to their defense.

"Well how about we just hide it somewhere in the royal table dining room," suggested Finn. Everyone agreed to this, so they headed back inside the castle.

"Okay, so where should we put the fob?" asked Willa.

"I'll take care of that after you leave, dear," said the fairy godmother coming up behind them. Not wasting any time, the kids all gathered around the fob. Looking around to make sure everyone was there, Finn pressed the button.

* * *

><p>The kids had all agreed to have a live video chat that next day. Finn was taking Amanda to his house for it. But Jess didn't have a place to go and she didn't want to intrude on Finn's house because he and Amanda were probably gonna end up with their tongues shoved inside each other's throats. Well, probably not but they would both be shamelessly flirting. Not a pretty picture for Jess. They couldn't pick her up because her school was kind of far. But, she went to the same school as Maybeck.<p>

"Absolutely not!" said Jess, once Amanda told her the news. She got the announcement via email.

"Jess there's not a choice!" said Amanda, tiredly. Sometimes, she felt like a mother. Not that she knew what that was like. "Just please please do it for me!" Jess sighed. She did hate stressing Amanda out.

"All right, fine!" said Jess reluctantly.

"GIRLS! SCHOOL TIME!" Miss. Nash called upstairs. Jess and Amanda quickly hurried out of the house and to their schools. Jess was glad that Amanda didn't go to her school. Nothing against Amanda but honestly, her school was in a sketchy part of town and Amanda was too sweet and soft to handle it.

"Hey, Jess," said Rob, popping out of seemingly nowhere as Jess was making her way to class.

"Rob," she nodded towards him. She and Rob had briefly dated but she broke up with him when she realized what a pig he was. He was just like all the other guys at her school: constantly trying to be cool but inevitably being boringly ordinary. He thought he was cool because he wore his pants below his butt. She really should've known better than to date him. Who asks a girl out by saying " I know you like me," especially if they don't. But for some reason, lately she couldn't get him away from her. It's like he was back for round 2. Jess walked faster, trying to get away from him. He followed her closely, clearly not getting the message.

"So Jessie," Rob started. Jess rolled her eyes.

"I've told you before, I don't like being called Jessie. It's Jess to you!" Jess snapped, not in the mood to play games.

"Relax Jess," he said, "I'm just messin with you. Anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the dance with me?" Rob was such an idiot. He and Jess had known each other for a while and dated and he STILL didn't get that she didn't like school dances. It was just a chance for the popular people to make everyone else feel inferior by dominating the middle of the dance floor while everyone else crowded around, trying to see what was going on.

"No thanks," said Jess as politely as she could, given the circumstances.

"Aw c'mon!" he half begged half spat out, "Lighten up. We kinda used to have a thing!"

"And your point being?" Jess snapped.

"I was hoping we could get back to that," he answered.

"Ohh," said Jess, "Did Alexa dump you ALREADY?" Rob frowned. He opened his mouth to respond but, not being able to think of a good one, turned away muttering, "Bitch," under his breath. Jess was relieved that he was finally leaving her alone. Classes were a bore, as always. But after lunch, Maybeck approached her.

"So, you're coming over my house after-school right?" he asked her casually, making sure to look like he wasn't too pleased about it.

"Er…yeah," said Jess, "All right." Rob, having overheard as he was planning on going to once again ask Jess to the dance, stopped and faced them, frowning.

"Now I know why you wouldn't go to the dance with me! You've got a thing for Maybeck!" He said, accusingly.

"Hell no!" said Maybeck fiercely, wanting to save face, "She needs a ride, that's all. I would never date her. I mean just look at her!" Tears sprang to Jess' eyes. She was so mad, she couldn't see straight.

" You know what 'Terry'? Just because you walk around like you're all that, you think you are! You think your some big ladies man. Guess what? Nobody wants to date you! The only girl dumb enough to is Alexa and seeing as how she used to date Rob, that's saying a LOT about her standards. Oh and I don't need the ride after all. I don't think I would hate anything more than catching a ride home from school with you," Jess yelled, turning away and pushing past the small crowd that gathered. Later, some would say she slapped Maybeck right in the face for breaking up with her, while others would swear that she was pregnant with his child and that she had rejected him. But honestly, Jess didn't care. It's easier to talk about people like you know them when you don't, than to actually get to know them. She figured she probably wouldn't be at that school much longer anyways, the way thing were going at Mrs. Nash's house. She'd felt this bad before when she was little. But what she so desperately wanted and needed, she couldn't do. Not here, not now. She had already done it a few times and it was becoming a bad habit. Still, even after she had gone into her next class, she felt it calling to her, pulling her there. Taking a hold of her and practically possessing her. She tried to resist but couldn't fight the force. Finally, raising her hand to get a bathroom pass, she slipped out the door. Her feet were moving faster and faster, clicking along the tile floor. Down the stairs, turning left, down some more stairs and finally a quick right. She tiptoed inside the room and looked around, making sure it was empty. Climbing up and onto the platform. She went in front of the curtains and carefully turned on one light. The light pointing center stage. Walking over to the microphone stand and pulling it out she moved the stand towards the piano. Sitting down, she let her fingers take control and the melodramatic tone sink in. Opening her mouth, she sang the words that had slowly become her life

_I dreamed a dream in time gone by,_

_When the hope was high and life worth living, _

Her voice picked up as the music did and was a combination of love, hate, sadness, and bitterness, all wrapped up in one. It was something that could ease the broken soul and pain the full one. Closing her eyes, she let a single tear fall from her eyes, though her voice never wavered.

_But the tigers come at night,_

_With their voices soft as thunder,_

_As they tear your hope apart,_

_As they turn your dreams to shame, _

More and more tears fell from her face, and she was powerless to stop them.

_I had a dream my life would be, _

_So different from this hell I'm living._

_So different now from what it seems, _

_Now life has killed the dream,_

_I dreamed _

She said the last line softly, as if resigning. As the beat slowed and eventually faded into the darkness, she heard a door slam softly. She looked up but saw nothing. Thinking it was all in her head, she walked out of the door.

* * *

><p>Ms. Donovan, the choir teacher had tears in her eyes. The girl was good. Really good. Good enough to go somewhere. Maybe not Broadway but somewhere, definitely. Yes, she was in Ms. Donovan's choir class but nobody had ever really stood out as outstandingly good to her. At least not lately. What with show tunes and classics being deemed uncool and lame, everyone was so afraid to stand out. But Jess had never struck her as that type. She seemed not to be worried what people thought of her and she wasn't an outcast but at the same time, she was solitaire, even when sorrounded by friends. But the way she sang that song, the way her heart poured into it, how genuine and raw it was, was extraordinary. She was just what Ms. Donovan needed so it was settled. Ms. Donovan was going to approach Jess about her singing.<p>

* * *

><p>Listening to Jess' voice, even though it really was a sad song, Maybeck felt comfort. He had seen her wandering the halls with her eyes a little red and puffy and he half-pitied half-hated her. Following her he wasn't sure if he was going to comfort her or confront her. But what had happened to him, wasn't what he expected. She sat down delicately by the piano and played amazing music like it was nothing. Then she opened her mouth and sang like nobody's business. Yeah it sounded like some old weird music that people might have listened to in the 1800's, but her singing it made it new and Maybeck felt ashamed that he had known her as long as he did without ever hearing her sing. He was very disgruntled the rest of the day, barely able to focus on anything and he was about to get in his car when he turned back around, looking for Jess. He saw her up ahead on the road, already walking home. Silently, he slid into the car and closed the door and Aunt Jelly drove him home.<p> 


	7. First Kisses

A/N: So I recently was listening to the WDW radio pod cast, where they interviewed Ridley Pearson and it inspired me to write the next chapter!

* * *

><p>"There definitely must be a bad connection," said Finn to Amanda. They were currently in contact with Philby, Charlene, Maybeck, and Willa. But. Maybeck wasn't arguing back with Finn. In fact, Maybeck was barely speaking and it was freaking Finn out. Finn was already worried enough because Jess hadn't been with Maybeck when they signed on. When asked where she was, Maybeck just mumbled something about a long day at school so Finn decided not to push the topic anymore. Charlene had gotten a knowing look on her face but Amanda was worried sick and had pressed Maybeck for answers, until Finn's mom came in and soothed her, saying it would be fine. Then, she had proceeded by making a 3 course "snack" for Finn and Amanda and was besides herself with giddy. Thankfully, Finn's father wasn't home. He really didn't want to have to deal with him at the moment. Even his mother appeared to be behaving although Finn was pretty sure she was taking pictures of them when they weren't looking.<p>

"Why do you think that?" Amanda asked.

"Well because I mean," said Finn, turning towards Amanda to whisper to her, "Maybeck isn't arguing or objecting or even speaking!"

"I wonder what's up with him?" Amanda said.

"I don't know but whatever it is, he better snap out of it," Finn snapped.

"Ahem, if you two are done," Willa said sternly, "we were discussing how we're going to get knowledge on the OT's plans."

"Oh well I was thinking, we could all go out except Maybeck and he could watch the castle with the princesses while charming them while the princes are out," Finn said loudly, looking over at Maybeck.

""oh yeah I guess," said Maybeck looking up after a second.

"See," he said softly to Amanda, "Nothing. At all!" The other keepers were giving Finn a strange look.

"Um…" said Philby, "Something you wanna tell us dude?"

"Hmm?" said Finn distractedly, "No it's just. Ugh! I'll explain later!"

"Well since nobody has a better plan, I think we should do Willa's original plan to disguise ourselves as the green-eyes," Charlene said impatiently. Boys were so dense sometimes. They were hardly worth dating except that some were so suave.

"Finn what do you think?" asked Philby. Finn had tried to listen, he really had. But his worry for Maybeck was keeping him only halfway in the conversation.

"I think that'll be all right," Finn replied, "Don't you think Maybeck?" he said louder. Maybeck just nodded, showing he was at least listening. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulder and he seemed weary for someone who was only a teenager.

"Then I guess it's a plan. We need to meet up at someone's house and talk plans and for the next few nights, no one should be crossing over," Philby said, all business. Charlene was the first to sign off because she wanted to "catch up on her beauty sleep". Willa and Philby soon followed but Maybeck stayed logged on, staring into space.

"Uh Maybeck" Amanda called, "MAYBECK!" she said louder.

"Yeah," he said looking up. "Oh right Well later." He logged off.

"Finn what is with you! You're almost as distracted as Maybeck!" Amanda scolded once they had logged off, "The others expect your input to make the team work."

"Something's up with Maybeck!" Finn protested.

"Maybe he's just having a bad day! Everyone has bad days!" Amanda argued.

"No no," Finn said, "It's something different!"

"Oh my goodness! Finn you need to focus! If he doesn't snap out of it by tomorrow, we'll say something, okay?" Amanda said.

"All right," Finn agreed reluctantly.

"So…" said Amanda.

"So…" echoed Finn, trying to ease the awkwardness that had suddenly enveloped the room. Finn realized this was the first time Amanda had been over his house since he'd kissed her. He still wasn't sure what they were. He spent hours at night trying to wrap his head around whether they were still friends or more than that.

"Hey kids would you-" Finn's mom started, walking in the room. When she saw Finn and Amanda sitting there staring at each other, she stopped. "Oh um never mind. I'm just gonna go um… vacuum the um…driveway," She said hurriedly, tossing Finn a 'well isn't this nice' look which Finn responded to with a 'why do you hate me' blush. Amanda was slightly embarrassed but mostly amused. She gave a nervous giggle.

"No it's okay Mrs. Whitman. I was just going," Amanda said sweetly. She turned back to Finn, with an odd expression on her face and Finn just looked confused.

"Finn," said Mrs. Whitman, "Would you like to walk Amanda to the door?"

"Oh okay I guess." he replied, obviously not getting it. They walked towards the front door. Finn opened it for her and Amanda looked back at Finn. He looked down at her, smiling.

"Well bye!" Finn said waving her off. Amanda's smile froze. She turned back around and headed down their driveway. Once she was gone, Finn closed the door. His mom was staring at him with her arms crossed. "What?" Finn asked, genuinely confused. His mother just threw up her arms and walked back into the kitchen to make dinner, muttering, 'No game'.

* * *

><p>"Well bye? Seriously?" Willa asked Amanda the next day. Jess, Amanda, and Willa were all sleeping over at Charlene's house. Currently, Jess was getting a manicure from Charlene and Willa and Amanda were flipping through the latest issue of 17 magazine. Jess was flipping through one of the older issues. Jess, having never read 17 magazine before was absolutely thrilled to be reading Charlene's who had a set of issues dating back to 2007, with one for every month. Amanda was telling Willa about what she thought would've been her and Finn's first kiss. The one in front of her house didn't count because he was possessed by a spell that took 'A kiss that knocks 'em dead' way to literally. The one at night in the park didn't count either because well, they were both part DHI at the time.<p>

"Yeah I know!" Amanda replied, "I think even his MOM knew what was supposed to happen. All I ask for is for a genuine first kiss. No spells, no DHIs, just a normal kiss!"

"Oh hush! First kisses are overrated anyways," Charlene said. She had the most kissing experience out of any of them. "You spend it worrying if your breath smells okay and whether you're doing it wrong or not. Then you think is he going to start adding tongue and when he does, how do you do it. Honestly, I don't get what the hype is about, it's not worth all the worrying."

"Easy for you to say! You've probably kissed like a million guys!" Amanda said.

"A million and 2," Charlene joked, winking and Amanda giggled.

"Have you ever been kissed Jess?" Willa asked. Jess didn't answer. "Oh you have, haven't you!" Willa squealed, "Spill it, chica!"

"It wasn't even really anything!" Jess said, blushing slightly, "It was one time at the movies and a few pecks in the hallway with like a gazillion people around."

"Oh what was it like?" asked Willa. Jess scrunched up her nose.

"Honestly?" she said, "they were all just really awkward. The one at the theater, he wanted to try...you know…with tongue, but I just felt like we were doing it all wrong or something. And then he tried to feel me up and we were done with kissing and movies for a while."

"What's wrong with him feeling you up?" Charlene asked.

"It was our first date!" Jess replied exasperated. Charlene made a face.

"Okay ew! He seems kinda sleazy," Charlene said.

"Who is this he anyways?" Willa asked.

"Oh just this guy who goes to my school," Jess said dismissively.

"We figured as much but what's his name?" Charlene asked.

"Rob," Jess confessed, finally.

"You mean that guy we called when we were in AK that day? Change Rob?" Willa asked.

"Yup that's him," Jess replied.

"Well are you still together?" Charlene asked.

"No," Jess said, rolling her eyes, "Things got messed up and complicated in a hurry. I love these bikini's! do you think this one would look good on me?" Jess pointed to an old bikini in an issue of 17.

"Definitely," Charlene said, leaning over to look at it, "You know I have that if you want it. It's old and doesn't fit me anymore. But it'll probably fit you."

"Are you serious?" Jess asked, shocked.

"Yeah I'm serious, girl. I always wanted a sister to share clothes and stuff with," Charlene said, "Now I guess I have 3!" Jess beamed.

"Thank you so much!" jess said, gratefully.

"No problem. Seriously, anytime," Charlene said graciously.

"All right girls!" Charlene's mother said, entering the room, " Who wants smoothies!"

"Thanks Ms. Turner," Amanda said politely.

"Oh please! Ms. Turner makes me sound so old and boring. Please, call me Tiffany" said Charlene's mom.

"Oh all right err…Tiffany" Amanda said.

"Mo-om" Charlene whined.

"Oh relax sweetie," Her mother responded. Going into the kitchen they drank their smoothies and had some pizza. Charlene's mom was gorgeous. She had amazingly high cheekbones and was basically a grown up version of Charlene. She was pretty and skinny enough to have been a model and if you didn't know any better, you might mistake her and Charlene for sisters, much to Charlene's dismay and her mom's delight. Charlene was very fashionable and it was clear now where she got it from. Her mother was really cool usually and could understand teenagers better than most mothers. After they ate, Charlene's mom laid out cookie dough so the girls could make cookies, then went to her room to catch an American Idol re run she had missed.

"Okay my star shaped cookie is missing a tip," said Jess. Amanda giggled.

"Try looking in the cookie cutter," she said.

"Amanda your pretty good at this," Charlene said.

"Well when you have basic cable, watching cooking shows can seem very interesting compared to soap operas," Amanda replied.

"Speak for yourself!" Jess said, " I never found out if Rose and Cory would end up together!" Amanda rolled her eyes.

"So you never told us how things are going with you and Philby," Amanda said.

"Yeah," Charlene piped up, "Have you guys kissed yet?" Willa sighed.

"No and I'm beginning to think we never will," Willa said, "I mean we haven't even been on a real date yet!"

"Well is it official?" Jess asked.

"I have no idea at all," Willa replied.

"How do you have no idea?" Jess said.

"Well what about you and Maybeck?" Willa asked. Jess got quiet.

"There is no me and Maybeck," Jess said, "what we are is nothing. Not even friends."

"Ohkayyy then," Charlene said, "Does this mean you're not going to the dance?"

"How do you know about the dance?" Jess asked.

"Your kidding, right? Like 5 guys from your school have asked me to go!" Charlene said.

"Well aren't we fancy," teased Willa.

"Hey, when ya got it, flaunt it!" Charlene said with a wink.

"C'mon guys," Let's finish these cookies," Amanda said. They spent the rest of the night talking and giggling, doing make-up and trying on outfits.

"So," said Charlene, "I think we should initiate official Friday night sleepovers!"

"Agreed," Amanda said.

"One condition," Willa stated.

"What?" Charlene asked.

"They have to be at your house! Seriously, I'm in love with this place right now!" Willa said. They laughed.

"I second that!" Jess said.

"Then it's decided!" said Charlene.

"Yeah we're the new Disney Princesses!" Amanda said.

"Ohh I love that! I'm definitely a princess!" said Charlene.

"Ehh I'm not really the frilly type," Jess said.

"Oh please! Disney princesses are anything but frilly! I'm pretty sure Cinderella carries a knife in he dress, just in case," Charlene said.

"Touché," chuckled Jess.


	8. Time For Some Action

"Jessica! I was wondering if I could have a word?" Mrs. Donovan asked. It was Monday morning, right at the end of lunch and Mrs. Donovan had finally cornered Jess. All day, she had had the sneaking suspicion that she was being followed and watched, so she'd been moving faster than usual in the hallways. She didn't know what Mrs. Donovan wanted, but whatever it was, she didn't have the time for it.

"Sure," sighed Jess. Mrs. Donovan lead her into the choir room, "Look is this gonna take long because I was hoping to get some actual food from the vending machine before lunch is over."

"Jessica," said Mrs. Donovan, ignoring her question, "I heard you singing the other day."

""What are you talking about?" Jess asked.

"You were singing in the auditorium," Mrs. Donovan insisted.

"No," said Jess, "I wasn't. You must've seen someone else." If Mrs. Donovan hadn't known any better, she probably would've actually believed she was mistaken. Jess was a good liar.

"I Dreamed a Dream," Mrs. Donovan said, "If you want I could show you on our security cameras, although they might be more distracted as to why you were out of class and in the auditorium." This was a bluff. She was pretty sure there weren't any security cameras in the auditorium and if they were, they wouldn't check unless there had been a fight in there or something so they knew who to suspend. But what Jess didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

"Okay it was me," she said, "What do you want?"

" I think you should be in choir! You have a very pretty voice and you can play piano better than I can!" Mrs. Donovan said brightly.

"No thanks," Jess replied.

"But…but why?" Mrs. Donovan asked.

"I'm not interested." Jess snapped.

"If you're worried about what other people think-"

"Of course! It's always that, isn't it? All grown-ups think that kids are so brainless we're afraid to think for ourselves. It has nothing to do with people. It has to do with ME! I don't want to! Okay?" said Jess. Walking out of the classroom, Jess was fuming. Mrs. Donovan was confused. She assumed it must've been peer pressure that kept her from singing because she was amazing at it. But, if that was so, why had she gotten so mad? Jess was just really upset. She hadn't even waited to get a written pass to her next class because she was late. She charged down the hall. Faster and faster she walked and then boom! She was on the ground. She had ran into none other than Maybeck. They both landed on the floor with a thud! Pushing him off of her quickly, she couldn't help but notice his arms. _Have they always been that…sculpted_, she thought.

"Sorry ," he said sheepishly.

"S'okay," she said softly, looking away.

"Look Jess-"

"I better go," Jess interrupted, "I'm already late enough." Not turning back to look at Maybeck, she grabbed her backpack and hurried off to class. Maybeck sighed, realizing this was his fault but also knowing there was nothing he could or would do about it in front of his friends. He had to live and be able to show his face at school, after all. Sometimes, you did what you had to.

* * *

><p>"Hey Willa, wait up!" called Philby to Willa. The last bell had just rang and Philby was approaching Willa's locker.<p>

"So, Finn said he wanted to meet up with him after school at his house for planning and his mom gave the Okay," Philby said.

"Oh well I can't go," Willa said slyly, "I don't have a ride."

"Oh well um o-"

"Unless you could maybe give me one," she asked shyly.

"Oh well I rode my bike and-"

"Oh. Well it was just and idea," said Willa, trying to lightly dismiss it. She jutted her hip out. She felt someone staring and without turning around, she knew who it was.

"Hey Willa," said Spencer confidently, as only a star sports player could.

"Oh hello Spencer," Willa said, turning around. But when she stood to face him, something wasn't right. He looked different and she couldn't place it for a moment but then she realized what it was. Eyes. His eyes were green.

"What's up?" he asked her.

"Oh not much really. Been pretty busy," She said, trying to get him to go away. Meanwhile, Philby was standing there, seething. He was pretty sure he and Willa were a thing now and he wasn't crazy about these "Chance" meetings between Spencer and Willa in the hallways.

"So Willa," Philby said, cutting off whatever Spencer had opened his mouth to say, "I think I can give you a ride on my bike today. We can share. It'll be cool." Willa nodded, smiling in Philby's direction but turned back to Spencer, trying to, more blatantly, get him to go away. Finally, Willa got exasperated.

"Bye Spencer!" she said a little angrily that he didn't get the hint. His face darkened and he turned away without another word. Shutting her locker, Willa and Philby walked outside to where he put his bike.

"Okay so um… we could I mean for this to work I mean," Philby started rambling. It took about 2 conversations with Philby to realize he was a nervous talker. When he didn't know what to say, he filled the space with breaking things that were quite simple down scientifically. Not wanting to waste anymore time than they already had, Willa simply slid onto his bike, leaving enough room for him, and tilted her head.

"You coming Philby?" she asked. His shyness, though a tinge irritating was actually really cute. Plus, Willa realized, she liked being in charge and in control, setting the pace for their relationship. She made up her mind that she was going to get that kiss if it killed her and given recent events, it just might. He mumbled something to himself then climbed onto the bike behind her. They started off awkwardly at first but soon built up a rhythm and before they knew it, they were at Finn's house.

* * *

><p>"Hey," said Maybeck, coming up to Jess in the hallway at the end of the school day.<p>

"Hey," replied Jess, warily.

"SO um they called a surprise Keeper meeting today to discuss," Maybeck paused, "Things. And um, I was wondering if you'd like a ride."

"A ride from you? No thanks," said Jess sharply.

"I'm um really sorry for what I -"Maybeck started.

"But that's the thing," said Jess spinning around to face him, "Your not! If you were, you wouldn't have whispered it to me in the hall when you thought no one was looking. You wouldn't be checking around every few seconds, making sure your little buddies aren't here and you may think you're slick but you're not fooling either of us." Maybeck knew inside that it was true. But the way she said it made it sound so… bad. Not knowing what else to say or do, he walked away. As Maybeck was leaving, Rob was coming.

"Hey Jesssss," he said, drawing out her name.

"Rob," she nodded curtly. She was really upset, mostly because she didn't want to miss another Keepers meeting. But Rob gave her an idea. She batted her eyelashes twice for good measure then smirked. "Hey Rob," she said reaching her arm out and rubbing his just a tad bit, "How'd you get to school today?" Rob didn't know what was going on, but he didn't care because Jess was hot in a way that not many girls were. Like an exotic dancer or something.

"Oh my new bike. Brand new from the bike shop downtown. Costed 400 dollars but darlin', you can ride it any time," he said winking at her.

"Great," she said to him with a lower, more husky voice. But she rapidly made her voice change up an octave, back to her regular voice, "Because I'm going to need to borrow it today after school. That won't be a problem, right Robbie?" She asked, once again batting her eyelashes.

"Err well actually I said…" Rob started awkwardly, "I mean when I said any time…I mean I just thought you would want-"

"You said I could ride it. I believe the exact words were 'any time darlin'," she said, mocking him. He just shook his head in disbelief and gave her his bike lock combination, still in a daze. Jess took it and walked away, chuckling.

"Hot and cold," Rob murmered to himself, "That's pretty freakin sexy." Meanwhile, Jess ran outside and hurriedly hopped on Rob's bike, determined to get to Finn's house before Maybeck did. She quickly started pedaling, feeling the wind whip across her face. She couldn't wait to see the look on Maybeck's face when he found her chillin' in Finn's kitchen.

* * *

><p>Amanda and Finn were riding together again to Finn's house. Feeling they had already mastered getting on a bike together, Finn assumed it wouldn't take long. But upon getting to his bike at school, he had second thoughts. So did Amanda, but where his thoughts were thoughtful and cautious, hers were annoyed. <em>Why can't he just step up and be bold for a change?<em> _Sometimes I wish he was more like Maybeck_, Amanda thought,_ more straight forward and in charge. Maybeck isn't shy around girls. Of course he can be kind of a jerk but there's something about his confidence… _Amanda was trying not to think about that, horrified at the thought. _Jess and Maybeck have a thing. Not a big thing, I think, but a thing, and I refuse to get in the middle of that._ Sighing, she waited for Finn to get his thoughts together enough to escort her on the bike. He finally stepped up and told her to grab onto his waist when they got on, like last time. Why it took so long for him to decide this, Amanda didn't know. But he seemed oddly proud of his decision which for some reason, annoyed Amanda just a bit.

Charlene, Willa and Philby were the first to arrive at Finn's house. Followed soon by Jess. And coming in right behind her was Finn and Amanda. Amanda was too preoccupied to ask Jess why she hadn't arrived with Maybeck. Finn, however noticed that Maybeck wasn't there yet.

"Hmmm I wonder where Maybeck is. He usually likes to be on time because frankly, he doesn't like to miss anything," Finn said. Putting it out of his mind, he ushered the kids inside his house where Finn's mom had already cooked enough food to feed a small country.

"I thought your friends would be hungry, after all of that school," said Finn's mother grinning sweetly, "Oh Amanda! How lovely to see you again!" She said, way too cheerfully and an octave higher than her regular voice.

"Hi Mrs. Whitman. It's good to see you too," Amanda replied distractedly.

"Hey guys sorry I'm late" said Maybeck, bustling in the door. Getting inside, he took a moment to look around. His eyes landed on Jess and his eyebrows went up so high, it appeared to hurt. _Priceless_, Jess thought. Maybeck however, seeing the smirk on her face, wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of him asking how and why she got there. He simply said his Hello's and sat down.

"Okay guys," said Willa, all business, " Time is running out. We need to do something. As in soon. No putting it off indefinitely. We need a solid day and time." Philby stared at her admiringly for her ability to take exactly what he was thinking and put it into words.

"I think soon would be a good idea," Maybeck said.

"Soon," Amanda echoed from next to him. After the words left her mouth, her eyes widened a little, as if she seemed to realize what she was saying and snapped out of it. Charlene stared at her for a moment, having been the only one to notice. _That was a little weird_, she thought. Meanwhile Amanda was freaking out. While the group was discussing plans, she was wondering what the hell was happening. She had this thing with Finn. So why, all the sudden was she drooling over Maybeck. She and Maybeck had never even really talked one on one. So why, all the sudden, were his eyes a deep gleaming brown and his lips so plump and inviting and when did his smile start getting the power to make her melt like a Hershey's bar over a campfire? Amanda looked up. Everyone was looking at her expectantly and she realized that someone must've asked her a question.

"I said," repeated Charlene, "would it be possible for you and Jess to sleep over my house, that way we could all be asleep together and the boys could do the same thing." Amanda nodded then quickly went back to spacing out. _Okay, this is more than a little weird, _Charlene thought. Eventually the Kingdom Keepers decided they would cross over 2 days from that day. The boys would sleep over at Philby's house (Finn's mom would be there to help with the techy stuff just in case) and the girls would sleep over Charlene's. They had decided they were going to pretend Charlene's party was a birthday party so Mrs. Nash wouldn't refuse them, even though it was on a school night. Apparently, Charlene's mom could be very persuasive. Having settled everything, the kids all got ready to leave.

"How did you get here if you didn't come with Maybeck? When did you buy a bicycle?" Amanda asked finally zoning back in. Jess looked up and gave a triumphant smirk at Maybeck.

"Oh, it's not my bicycle. Rob let me borrow it," Jess said. She watched the expression on Maybeck's face flash somewhere between surprise, anger, and confusion. _Checkmate, Bitch_, thought Jess.

* * *

><p>Sighing contentedly, Amanda was on the beach. No, not the beach. Blizzard Beach. This was the dream she always had. The one where she and Finn kissed. He saw his figure, sitting in the sunset. Leaning in, she closed her eyes and got ready for the fireworks. And there were. There were more fireworks than the Wishes fireworks show at Disney World. Opening her eyes she sighed contentedly, sure that the Maybeck thing was just hormones or something. But when she opened her eyes, there he was. She screamed, coming out of her dream and sitting up in bed. Thankfully, she hadn't actually screamed or else Mrs. Nash would kick her out faster than she could say "nightmare". But Jess sat up, feeling the bunk bed shake.<p>

"Wha? Whas wrong?" she asked, half asleep.

"It was nothing. Just a bad dream," Amanda said soothingly. Jess nodded and went back to sleep. _But if it was a bad dream_, Amanda thought, _why did it feel so good_?

* * *

><p>Two days later, The girls were once again gathered in Charlene's house. The boys were at Philby's. His mother was simply delighted, her attitude having improved greatly since she saw Philby's adventures in a new perspective.<p>

"Charlene," Amanda whispered, "I need to talk to you." Charlene checked the clock. They had at least 3 hours until they needed to start trying to sleep.

"All right, what's up?" she asked.

"I…well," Amanda said, blushing slightly, "I need your help with something."

"Yes," said Charlene, a little impatiently.

"I wanna I mean…teach me how to to seduce…I mean woo people. Boys" Amanda blurted in a rush. Charlene cackled.

"Okay seriously Amanda what do you want?" she asked.

"Charlie," Amanda said, "I really could use your help to, like, seduce him." Charlene was practically crying at this point.

"Amanda! Just just shut up! I mean y-y-you! Really?" Charlene cackled. After a moment, she realized that Amanda was serious. "But Mandy! Why would you need to 'seduce' Finn. He already likes you!"

"Seduce Finn? What?" asked Willa, coming in from the kitchen. Jess giggled, coming in behind her.

"Charlene I thought you were over him?" She said. Charlene rolled her eyes.

"I am. I was talking about Amanda. She wants to seduce him or something," Charlene replied.

"But why? He's like, in love with you already!" Jess said. Willa nodded.

"Yeah he's totally crushing," she agreed.

"It's not Finn, okay?" Amanda snapped at them.

"What? But then," Willa said.

"Who is it!" Charlene snapped. Amanda blushed.

"No one important just please teach me," she said.

"That look on your face clearly says it is definitely someone important," Charlene said, "Plus, you don't wanna… 'seduce' them. Just flirt."

"But what about Finn?" Jess said.

"Look I'm tired of him. I just wish he would be more…forward, you know?" Amanda said.

"But that's just him!" Jess argued.

"Well maybe I don't like him then!" Amanda replied.

"Understandable," said Charlene, nodding, "Look. There's really no big secret or anything but I can teach you how to turn heads. You're really pretty and when I'm done with you, guys will be falling over themselves to check you out." Charlene winked. Jess rolled her eyes.

"Charlene? Will you do me too?" Willa asked.

"For what?" Charlene asked.

"Well…I…I wanna be pretty," Willa said shyly

"Willa you ARE pretty!" Amanda said.

"C'mon I just wanna try it!" Willa said, exasperated.

"All right!" Charlene said, "You wanna join, Jess?"

"No. I'll have to pass on that," Jess said, "I don't have any desire to 'seduce' anyone."

"What about M-" started Charlene.

"Don't even go there!" Jess snapped, irritated. Amanda shifted on her feet anxiously. Charlene held her hands up in mock-surrender.

"Okay okay fine!" she said. So Jess watched while Charlene gave Willa and Amanda makeovers with her mom occasionally coming in and suggesting things. It was like a beauty tutorial or some shit and Jess was seriously regretting coming.

"Are you guys gonna wear that tonight when you go to sleep?" Jess asked, indicating the make-up and outfits. Willa was wearing some pretty tight jeans and a shirt that keep rising up, exposing her navel. But that was nothing compared to Amanda. Jess honestly didn't know what had gotten into her sister. Charlene had picked out a cute outfit that accentuated all of Amanda best assets. But for some reason Amanda had rejected, saying it was too hot outside to wear it. Instead she dug through Charlene's closet until she found a short, tight red skirt that she had paired with one of Charlene's old gymnastics leotards with red sparkling glitter on it. Seeing Amanda's outfit, Willa had insisted on changing to the shirt and jeans she was now wearing. But Amanda's outfit was just too much.

* * *

><p>Charlene was thinking the exact same thing. <em>What the hell possessed her to do this<em>, she thought. Charlene knew it couldn't be Finn. Even if she didn't want him to see her as more sexy, all she had to do was wear an outfit like Willa's. Finn would be out of his mind, because it was Amanda and he already checked her out on a daily basis. No, it was someone else. _But who, _she thought. She decided to ask Amanda questions, hoping she would spill what was up. Charlene checked her watch. 30 minutes until they needed to get to sleep. She heard Jess ask them if they would go to the parks like that and Charlene was doubtful They had action plans and those outfits would get in the way. Willa shook her head.

"Nah! I do like this though. Maybe you could loan it to me sometime," Willa said, waggling her eyebrow at me. To her, this was just dress-up which was good. It'd be too weird if Willa started dressing like that on a daily basis. But Amanda nodded eagerly.

"Oh yeah. I mean um," she said, "It'll be like a trial test…you know, to see if it'll work." Jess gave her a skeptical look. So did Charlene. But neither one of them argued. Slipping into the costumes they had agreed on (well, except Amanda who fixed her hair, making it super straight in comparison to her usual wavy locks), the girls got into their sleeping bags and started to close their eyes, drifting off to sleep. Charlene looked and saw the other girls close to falling asleep. She quickly sprang up and grabbed the costume meant for Amanda and the contact lenses, putting them in a bag, although she wasn't sure they were going to cross over with her. She crawled back into her sleeping bag and closed her eyes.

* * *

><p>"And you're sure you'll be all right?" Finn's mother asked him. Finn, Maybeck, and Philby were all getting ready to go to sleep and his mom was anxious about them crossing over<em>. <em>

"I'll be fine," He said, "We have to do this or else we'll all be in danger. Mrs. Whitman couldn't help but gaze admiringly at her son. Although she hated how much risk there was to this, she also was proud of her son for being so mature about it and at least she could monitor him at all times.

"Now remember," said Philby turning to his mom and Finn's mom, "You'll be able to see when we cross over on here," he said pointing at a spot on the map that was displayed on his laptop. His mother nodded as did Finn's. hey were each incredibly smart but put together their brains were like a super power. After going over a few more tings with them, Philby climbed into his sleeping bag. He closed his eyes, willing himself not to check the clock, because it would only make him more anxious and make it harder for him to fall asleep.


	9. Spy Time

Finn woke up first in Magic Kingdom, quickly followed by, Maybeck, then Willa, then Jess, then Philby them Amanda. Charlene came in slightly later than the others because by the time she got there, all 3 guys were staring at Amanda. Charlene snorted at how stupid they were. _Boys will be boys I guess_, she thought. Amanda was standing there trying to remember what Charlene and her mom had taught her about flirting. She putting her hand on her hip in what she hoped was a sassy way and smiled.

"What do you think?" she asked, indicating her outfit. Although she said it as an open question, Charlene noticed how her eyes darted to Maybeck ever so slightly. _Oh what the hell_, she thought, _is she fucking serious? _Charlene knew in that instant why Amanda wanted the new look and her mind wandered back to a few days ago at Finn's house when Amanda was acting weird. Finn looked at Amanda and blushed. _He sort of thinks she did this for him_, Charlene realized.

"You look hot! Like seriously hot. I mean I knew you were pretty but… wow," Maybeck said, not holding back, his eyes wandering her body. She blushed and smirked. _She likes that_, Charlene thought, _she likes him saying that and looking at her like that! _Charlene peered over at Jess to see her reaction. It was hard to read. Jess was obviously confused, but she had jealous written all over her face. Finn seemed afraid to say anything, not wanting to sound like a perv. But it probably wouldn't matter if he said anything anyway, because Amanda didn't seem to care what he had to say tonight.

"Thanks," she said. Finn wasn't completely oblivious, though he didn't understand why what Maybeck said made her so happy. He didn't like the way Maybeck was looking at her though. Philby looked at her but seemed to not be as affected. Instead he strode over to talk to Willa.

"Um you know what guys?" Charlene said with a fake smile on her face, "Mandy needs to change into a more…suitable outfit!" Not giving Amanda a chance to respond, she pulled her towards the castle. Amanda grumbled.

"Why did you do that?" Amanda asked.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked Charlene, ignoring Amanda's question.

"What do you mean?" Amanda asked, "I was just you know…"

"Flirting with Maybeck," Charlene said accusingly.

"I was NOT," Amanda said, but her cheeks were red.

"For goodness sake Amanda EVERYONE could see it! What about your sister?" Charlene asked, "You know there's something going on there. And what about Finn, hm?"

"Enough about Finn. He's too shy! He doesn't like me enough to step up and do anything, so we just sit there in the middle between friends and dating! I don't want that! So I'm changing it!" Amanda sad hotly.

"Changing it would be telling Finn or talking to him. C'mon Amanda, you don't even know Maybeck well. You guys rarely ever talk," Charlene said.

"Well maybe it's time to change that," said Amanda softly. Charlene snorted.

"What are you gonna do? Make advances? Ask him out?" She asked jokingly. Amanda bit her lip, her face getting serious. "Ohmygosh! Amanda! You are not doing this now! Go to the bathroom and change, okay? Then we need to meet the others at the castle." Amanda obeyed and soon they were sitting in the Royal Table dining room.

"Uhh You guys," said Philby, "We never exactly discussed who's going to be going and who's staying."

"I thought we were all going?" asked Amanda, who had changed into more appropriate clothes for the task at hand, to Jess' relief and Maybeck's disappointment.

"Well I just think that we should split into groups. If they capture us all, that would NOT be good," Philby said. Finn nodded in agreement. He was secretly hoping Amanda would stay behind. He didn't want her to get hurt. Willa spoke up.

"That seems fair. But if you think you're making the girls stay behind, you got another thing coming," said Willa.

"Agreed," said Jess. After much arguing and negotiating, it was decided that Philby (Surprise, surprise) would stay behind so he could send help if needed.

"Okay, this works," said Amanda, "2 and 2 and 2. I'll go with Maybeck, and Finn can go with Willa. Then Charlene and Jess can go together.," she chirped. Charlene rolled her eyes. And Finn tried to act like he didn't care.

"Err that'll work," he said. Meanwhile, Maybeck didn't know what was going on, but he wasn't gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. They slipped out of the castle separately. Maybeck and Amanda first, then, 5 minutes later, Willa and Finn and another 5 minutes later Jess and Charlene.

"What's going on with Amanda?" Jess asked after they had left, "She's acting kind of weird."

"You have no idea," muttered Charlene.

* * *

><p>Amanda walked of the raft and into the undergrowth on Tom Sawyer Island behind Maybeck. She didn't know why she was doing this, what could possibly have controlled her to do this. But there was no turning back now. They were awkward together. Amanda was, for once, eager for the adventure to kick in, if only to give them something to talk about. They were being eerily polite and Amanda knew it was because they were near strangers to each other.<p>

"So um where do you think they are?" Amanda asked.

"Well probably by the forts and stuff. Or one of those dark caves," Maybeck said softly. Amanda shuddered.

"I hate caves," she said.

"Well," Maybeck said, "You were here first with Finn, so you'll probably know the island better than me."

"I'm sorry, I was a little too busy screaming and running to draw a map," Amanda said.

"Oh now you wanna get feisty?" Maybeck teased, "That outfit earlier was hot, by the way." Amanda blushed.

"Thanks," she said, "It's kinda what I was going for."

"I'm sure Finn appreciated it," Maybeck said.

"It wasn't for Finn," Amanda replied quietly.

"But I thought-"

"Well you thought wrong," Amanda snapped, getting annoyed. Why did they all just automatically think she and Finn were together? Amanda was the kind of girl who liked to be asked to be taken out, as most girls do. She was a little annoyed that Finn just kind of assumed.

"Don't bite my head off," Maybeck said, holding up his hands in mock-surrender. Amanda giggled.

"Sorry, just saying," she said, "And I think it's that way," she pointed to the left. They started on their trek. If they weren't so afraid of an Overtaker popping out at them, they might've found it peaceful. But they knew better. Soon they could see the outline of the fort in the distance.

"I don't like this," Maybeck said, "Too easy." Amanda nodded.

"There you are! We've been looking for you everywhere!" said a voice from behind them. They turned, scared. Behind them stood a boy who was really more of a giant wall and looked to be about as smart as one, "We need you to come into the next planning session," He said. The boy was none other than Greg Luowski. The kids realized that he must mistake them for one of the green eyes. They breathed a silent sigh of relief.

"Er…Right," said Maybeck, "We were just patrolling the grounds for any unwanted intruders."

"Well knock it off and get to the meeting area!" snapped Greg.

"Uhh…the meeting…oh um," Amanda stuttered. Greg rolled his eyes.

"Ugh newbies. Here, follow me," he growled.

* * *

><p>"Did you hear that?" Willa asked. They were currently on a trail to get to the center village of the island because that's where everyone appeared to be heading. Finn nodded silently, showing he at least heard Willa's question. But he couldn't focus. He tried, he really did. But something had been nagging at him. Amanda. He thought that she would wanna go looking around with him, not Maybeck. He tried to dismiss it as nothing, but no matter how hard he tried, there it was, in the back of his head.<p>

"Finn? Finn? Earth to Finn." Willa said, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him, "I don't know what is up with you, but get it together or else we're gonna get caught!" Finn's eyes zoned in, becoming more focused.

"Yeah your right, Okay, we can't hide, or else it'll look suspicious. Just try to blend in and avoid talking anymore than is necessary," Finn said. Willa nodded. She knew what was bothering Finn. But she really didn't have the time or energy to sit down and stroke his ego. Walking along the path, they made their way to the center forts, falling onto a line of green eyes. Looking around, they realized how many there must be. _Whoa_, Finn thought, _there must be at least 200 green eyes and OT's all together. _Under closer inspection, most of the Overtakers were animals or creatures, though some weren't. But there was something else that was different. Finn couldn't figure out what.

"Psst, Finn," Willa whispered. She discreetly pointed to the sides of the area. Finn squinted and looked down. He quickly saw what was different. The shadows.

* * *

><p>Jess had noticed the shadows as well. There were way more shadows than there were people there and, under close inspection, she realized some of the creatures were just shadows who had been contorted into animal shapes. She shuddered. Charlene nodded in agreement. She saw them too. All the Green-eyes had been rounded up in the center. It looked like there was to be a massive announcement. After a little bit of chatter, a hush soon fell over the masses, looking around, Jess and Amanda couldn't see why. Charlene was looking around, trying to scope out the other Keepers to make sure they were okay. The disguises would make it harder but not impossible. Looking around, she spotted Amanda and Maybeck, standing near each other, but couldn't see Finn and Willa. Meanwhile, Jess was trying to see what made everyone get quiet. She jumped when she heard a voice coming from behind her.<p>

"My friends!" Shouted a deep booming voice. Jess and Charlene turned around to see Dr. Facilier only feet away from them. Everyone else turned around too. They weren't the only one surprised by his entrance. "I have important newssss, " he said, drawing out his S's. "I've just spoken to people down by The Magic. They're getting ready to start boarding some people. Some of OUR people. And although they refuse to let my friends," He glanced over at the shadows, "Go, We still have plenty in store. Once it's first trip goes is when we'll have the opportunity to take it and make it look innocent although that's not a priority," Facilier said, "I mean, the innocent looking part, not the stealing part," he explained hurriedly. Jess was getting hot. She started sweating and things were getting blurry. She closed her eyes, and a scene flooded her.

There were 2 shadows, in the water. Shadows of people this time. It was dark and a little chilly. Looking around, she saw two people, one a women and one a man, talking. She heard someone calling her name. It sounded kind of like…Charlene. It got louder and louder. Her dream was going away., fading. She opened her eyes to see everyone staring at her. Charlene HAD been the one calling her name, trying to pull her out of her vision. Dr, Facilier looked angry. He stormed over to her and grabbed her by the hair but, since it was a wig, it came off to reveal her strawberry blonde mane. Dr. Facilier roared in rage.

"Well," He thundered, " I'm no fisherman but I do believe we caught ourselves a Keeper," He said maliciously. Charlene could hear a gasp and guessed it came from Amanda. Charlene could see Willa and Amanda both pushing past the crowd now, trying to get to Jess. Charlene tried, but she was being blocked by green-eyes, anxious to see what was going to happen to her. Willa's agility got her to the front first. She ran up to Facilier, prepared to hit and kick him so he would let go of Jess. But what she didn't count on was what came next. He snapped his fingers, there was a puff of smoke, and then Willa and Jess were tied together, back to back, by vines. Willa shrieked, while the other Keepers tried to make their way towards them, afraid of what he would do.

"Come now. I'm not gonna hurt you," Dr. Facilier said evilly, "In fact, I have a deal to make with you. Free tarot card reading, just for you."


	10. An Irresistable Deal

Music was drumming in the air, and the shadows were circling around Dr. Facilier. A slow beat started to drum and if a rope wasn't binding her mouth, Willa would've screamed again.

"Bum, bum bum bum. Bum, bum, bum bum," said voices from around, probably from the shadows.

"I got friends on the other side," sang Dr. Facilier. He swiped his hand through the air and then there was a table and Jess and Willa were tied to 2 chairs, but only around their waists, leaving one hand free, but not enough to untie them. The binding on their mouths were removed. Charlene, Finn, Maybeck and Amanda were approaching the front of the crowd. A deck of cards appeared in Facilier's hand. "The cards, the cards, the cards will tell," he chanted mystically, "The past, the present and the future as well." He dealt out 6 cards, 3 for Jess and 3 for Willa. He turned to Willa first, a hungry look in his eyes. Willa trembled. "Now you my dear girl had it bad, You were teased and tormented for your looks till you were mad," He chanted, flipping over the second card, revealing a young crying Willa, "You've been pushed around and yelled at and deflected, and you're sick and tired of being neglected. And although you escaped it all right, you're still afraid it'll come back to bite." Here her revealed the second card, a modern Willa, being ignored by her mom and some of her friends, "But if you simply join me, this is what you're future will be." As he said this, he handed her the 3rd card to look at privately for herself.

"Oh my!" She gasped. Dr. Facilier chuckled and turned toward Jess who was struggling with her binding. "Now you child, you are a fighter through and through, you got something special in you," he sang, flipping over the first card, showing a picture of Jess as a child, having one of her dreams, "You ran away down to here, but they still suspect your different 'cause that much is clear," This time a picture of Maybeck the day he was yelling at Jess to save face, "But something's still missing from before and now, but stick with me and I can fix it, I know how," He said, slipping the first card into her hand. She turned it over. Her eyebrows went up and her mouth made an "o".

"H-how? That's not possible?' She stammered, shocked.

"Anything's possible," he said flashing a mirthless smile, "So," he said holding out both hands, "Do we have a deal? Will you shake a poor sinners hand?" he asked.

* * *

><p>Willa looked down at the card he had given her, shocked. How could he have known? Sure, she really thought about it but not seriously. She knew it was a ridiculous want. But she couldn't help it. She looked down at the picture in her hand again. She was vaguely aware of Facilier singing to Jess now, which was weird. The singing part. But that wasn't the point<em>. Could he really do that<em>, Willa thought. _Of course he can. He's like some freaking evil magician who's dance move's are really old. I should, but I… I don't know. _She knew it was stupid to want to be pretty-that's what Facilier could give her. The card held a picture of her, only thinner, curvier, with silky straight hair, instead of her dull wavy hair. She was walking down the hall and heads were turning. Everyone adored her, thought she was hot. She was finally popular. The card held her deepest desire, something she buried inside her, fooling herself into thinking she didn't care. She had convinced herself that she didn't need vanity, and that the way people saw beauty today was stupid, which it was. But, she couldn't lie to herself. She wanted it. She wanted to be beautiful, wanted guys to look at her the way they looked at Charlene or Jess, or they way they smiled and laughed with Amanda. She wanted that. She didn't want to be the "ugly" Keeper, as she was afraid some people had referred to her. She knew it was wrong to even consider the deal, but she didn't feel in control anymore. She felt like she was a puppet being pulled by her own desire.

"Do we have a deal?" she heard Facilier ask, smirking evilly. With a wild look in her eyes, Willa held out her hand.

* * *

><p>What was Jess thinking? It must be a trick. Still, she was captivated by the thought. Her parents, with her. But they had told her it wasn't possible, that all Fairlies were orphans. But then, they had also told her the doctors were just giving her a check up. She only knew they were her parents because she still had one old picture of them she had found before she ran away. She'd felt ridiculous taking it with her, but she wanted it as proof to herself, that she did have a family or at least used to, even if it was for a heartbeat. Standing beside her on the card, were her parents, gazing at her like the sun rose and set only for her. She'd always just assumed she was an orphan, but deep down, she had always yearned for family. She loved Amanda, but what she really needed more than anything, was a mother. She tried to talk herself out of it, tell herself she was setting herself up for failure, or worse. But her want had a mind of it's own. When Dr. Facilier said, "Will you shake a poor sinners hand," her hand suddenly made a beeline for his.<p>

* * *

><p>Amanda, Finn, Maybeck, and Charlene didn't know what was going on. At first they thought Facilier was just going to cast a spell on them, like Maleficent and the evil Queen usually did, but now they were confused. They were almost to the front and were in close proximity to Jess, Willa, and Facilier. When they got there, they were shocked to see not only Willa's but Jess' hand held out, about to make a deal with him. Dr. Facilier was cackling like a mad man, and Willa and Jess looked a little crazy. But suddenly, their hands inches from connecting, Facilier fell down to the ground. He shadows began scattering around, looking panicked. There was a bright light coming on and the sound of an old woman laughing. Mama Odie, stepping out of the shadows and carrying a stick that had light on the end, aimed it at the shadows.<p>

"Who are you?" screamed Facilier.

"Ooooh child now don't you worry bout that now," she said, "But you leave them there children alone, ya hear?" she said, taking down more shadows. The Keepers took this as an opportunity to free Jess and Willa. Running up to them, they untied them and were about to help Mama Odie when she shooed them away. "Oh I'm fine here! You go on around back and get on the raft with Tiana and Naveen," she commanded. She knocked out a few of the green eyes, clearing a path for them to run. The green eyes didn't follow. They were to busy trying to help Facilier. With rushed thank yous and head nods, the Keepers bolted, not stopping until they got to the dock. Sure enough, sitting on the raft waiting for them was Tiana and Naveen, from the Princess and the Frog. But they had company. A giant alligator was prowling towards them. Tiana was screaming and Naveen was attempting to reason with him.

"Now now Louis," he said, in his thick Maldonian accent, "Let's not doing anything we'd regret," He held his hands up in a half-surrender half shooing type way. Willa closed her eyes. She had seen Princess and the Frog and loved it. In fact, she had watched it over and over again. She tried to think what could possibly help. She noticed how Naveen had called the alligator Louis and realized he was probably the friendly trumpet playing alligator in the movie. Except there was nothing friendly about him now. _Think_, She thought. _I know this_. Thinking hard she realized it. _Gunshots. In the movie, Louis was afraid of human guns and it's a fact that alligators are afraid of loud noises…I think. _Turning towards Maybeck, the closest one to her, she tapped him.

"What makes the sound of a gun?" she asked him. He turned towards her, pretending to be offended.

"Now of course the black one gets asked that!" He said. Willa rolled her eyes.

"Can we just cut the crap? This is important, unless you have a thing for being eaten by alligators," Willa snapped. Maybeck nodded and started looking through his pockets.

"I must have something in here," he murmured to himself. Finally, reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out what appeared to be a very small gun. Willa's eyes went wide and she took a step back. Maybeck, not having time to explain, simply pointed it towards the nearest tree and fired. Bam! The shot hit the night air loudly. Turning around, Louis looked back at the Keepers and seeing what appeared to be a gun in Maybeck's hand, hurried off, back to the OT's camp. Maybeck chuckled lightly and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Uhh… Maybeck," said Willa warily, "Why do you have a gun?" she asked. Maybeck laughed. He pointed to the base of the tree, where there was confetti scattered on the ground.

"It's a confetti gun," Maybeck explained, "They were party favors from one of my friends parties. It can't actually fire bullets but it can sound like it," he said. Willa looked relieved.

"Well are y'all just gonna stand there or get on?" said Tiana, flashing them a smile. The Keepers didn't hesitate to climb onto the raft.

"That's right. You wit us now! We gonna take good care of ya," said a voice with a thick cajun accent. The Keepers looked around, trying to figure out who's voice it was.

"Oh do not let that scare you," said Naveen, "That is simply Ray," he said, pointing at a small lightning bug over their heads.

"That's right. Now listen hear children," said Ray, "My name Raymond, but everybody call me Ray!" He said., spelling it out for them in the sky with his light.. They were amazed, not really sure how that was possible but not caring.

"Wait a minute," said Jess, confused, "If Ray isn't an Overtaker, then how come Louis is?" Naveen got a sad look in his eye. Tiana lowered her head and bit her lip. Raymond hung his head, shaking it sadly.

"They done got him. They done got Louis," he said sadly. "That evil green lady and that there shadow man done got him."

"But… but… what do you mean?" asked Willa.

"When Maleficent started controlling the animals at Animal Kingdom, she got control of Louis too. Ray was tiny enough for her not to pay any mind to him, but she controls Louis now," Tiana explained, her voice cracking.

Wait," said Finn, " You know about Animal Kingdom?" Finn asked.

"Of course," Tiana said, "We do live here you know and despite popular belief, we're not as ignorant as we seem!"

"But can't Mama Odie do something? I mean she kicked butt with those shadows," Maybeck said. Naveen chuckled at his remark. But it was a sad laugh.

"Alas, she has tried but so far to no avail," Naveen said. They were approaching the other dock in Frontierland. Coming in and securing the raft to the side of the dock, Naveen ushered everyone off of the raft.

"Where are we going to?" Amanda asked.

"The Castle," Finn decided, "I don't want to stay here much longer. It's not safe."

"What about Mama Odie?" Jess asked.

"Oh she'll be fine. She lives there in a tree," Tiana said. The Keepers looked shocked.

"But why?" Willa asked, "Don't the Overtakers bother her or or try to hurt her or something?"

"To be honest no. They are a bit afraid of her, at least the ones here now. They think she's a bit crazy and they're afraid of what she'll do. But she rarely ever ventures to their 'headquarter'," Naveen explained. They took a turn on the bridge, venturing onto Main Street. Willa was oddly quiet on the way back to the Castle and Jess just felt ashamed of herself for believing what Facilier said for even a second. After all, her parents were dead…right?


	11. When it rains, it pours

A/N: sorry for not updating in a while. I was suffering through a horrendous bout of writer's block. Enjoy.

* * *

><p>15 minutes later, they were back in the castle dining room and the story had been told. Philby was fussing over Willa and Finn was trying to figure out what was on the cards, and if Dr. Facilier could control people with them.<p>

"I told you Finn," said Willa, exasperated, "He did what he did in the movie. Just…showed us things to try and convince us to make a deal with him. He wanted us to shake his hand."

"Okay but are you sure that-" Finn started. Jess, annoyed with all of these questions, and confused by what she'd been told tonight, threw her hands up, groaning.

"I'm going outside," she sighed. She felt as though the castle was suffocating her.

"I'll go too," said Amanda, worried for her sister.

"I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself," Jess snapped, storming out of the room. Amanda was hurt, but Jess couldn't find the heart to dwell on that. She just wanted to be alone. Walking out of the castle, she drifted onto the stage where they did the Dream Along With Mickey show. Sitting down, she sighed. She didn't want to venture too far, because who knew if there were still Overtakers near. She was just tired of this. She felt like she was stuck in a video game, on a level you couldn't win. So you kept starting over again and again, but losing lives, and eventually she would be down to her last one. What if her parents were out there? What if Facilier wasn't lying? Did she even care about seeing them if they were alive? She knew that answer. Yes. All those years, she had wondered what happened to them. Why she had these powers. She wondered if one or even both of her parents had these powers and that's why she had them. But a part of her was scared. What if they had given her up, because they didn't want her. She would be devastated. Wasn't she good enough for them? She had only been a baby. It wasn't until a sudden noise pulled her out of her thoughts. For a spilt second, she thought it was an OT, and tensed up, ready to run if she needed to. But looking around she saw it was Maybeck. Either they had been worried and he was the only one brave enough to go down there, or he had elected to go on his own. The fact that the second thought made her heart beat faster, worried her. Just because he came down there, didn't excuse him for being horrible to her.

"Hey," he said softly.

"Hmm," she said heatedly, which he took as a greeting. "Go away," she said.

"No," he said sitting down next to her.

"Then I'll go away," she shot back.

"All right, let's go," he said cooly. Jess laid on her back.

"Your so fucking annoying," She said, although her tone wasn't all mad.

"That's what they all say," he said winking.

"Well you're not with they, you're with me," Jess snapped. She'd heard his lines enough times. He sighed.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her.

"No your not," she said.

"Yes I am! Okay I get it! You don't deserve to be treated that way, I mean, I shouldn't have said all those things I didn't mean," he said.

"You sound like a low-budget chick-flick," She teased, giggling.

"Hello. Trying to be sincere her," he said, cracking a smile.

"Whatever," she said laughing. He chuckled, laying down next to her. They got really quiet for a while, looking at the stars.

"My parents," she whispered after a while.

"huh?" he asked.

"That's what Facilier said he could give me if I joined him. My parents," She explained, turning her head towards him.

"Um...aren't your parents…er…" Maybeck stuttered.

"Dead," said Jess, "Well they are or…at least that's what I was told." Maybeck was shocked and didn't know what to say. So he didn't say anything, just listened.

"I don't even remember them," Jess said softly, "I was a baby when they took me to the Fairlie home. I hated it there. It was my idea to run away. I just, I didn't want to be treated like a science experiment. They didn't care if we were hungry or thirsty or tired. They just ran tests, again and again. They only cared about our powers. And they kept us there like we were their lab rats. I was scared, for me and Amanda. So, I finally convinced her that we should leave. I didn't think we would make it, and I thought for sure when we got caught, they'd send us back. When they didn't, I was so glad, but, I can't help thinking they must have someone watching us, keeping record of what we're doing. It's scares the shit out of me," she said softly, turning her head towards Maybeck. He nodded intently, looking at her.

"I…I wow, I didn't know," he said softly. He felt horrible.

"Yeah well now you do," she snapped, "Kinda sucks when people say stupid things, especially to save a reputation they don't even have." Jess sat up, eyes narrowed

"What's that supposed to mean," Maybeck asked, defensively. He sat up as well, facing her.

"Nothing, just that wouldn't it be easier just to walk around with a big flashing sign that says poser?" Jess asked.

"You know, just because I'm the only black Keeper, people-"

"And that's another thing!" Jess said, pulling herself up to stand. A roll of thunder in the distance boomed. A storm was coming. "Why do you just assume that we single you out about things because you're black? We don't fucking care! Yeah there may still be racist people out there, but clearly we aren't! Nobody's making you do things 'because you're black' or saying any offensive statements! You're just being obnoxious!" Another roll of thunder. This time it was accompanied by a flash of lightning, lighting up the sky. Neither of them made a move to go inside. Maybeck stood up, looking down at Jess.

"Yeah, well you're-"

"I'm what?" asked Jess, "A freak, weird, ugly, stupid, fat, ignorant, a waste of space, I've been called it all." Lightning. This time, closer. Maybeck was taken aback. He hadn't expected that. His pause in accusations came at a cost. Jess took a deep breath and continued, "You call yourself a ladies' man but what you don't get is you go about things the wrong way. Your cheesy pick-up lines that you think every girl wants to hear are faker than your ex girlfriend's boobs. And girls can tell. Sure they work on easy girls but almost anybody worth dating wouldn't care about your whole "One moment is all I ask for" crap. And don't think 'you're boys' don't know it either. When it gets down to it, most of your friends only keep you around for a yes-man and a good laugh." Crack. Lightning ripped through the sky directly on the other side of the castle and the thunder was so loud, it shook the ground, making Jess and Maybeck jump. Maybeck was glaring at Jess and Jess knew it had been a low blow, but everything she had said was true. Deep down Maybeck should've realized and if he hadn't, she was doing him a big favor. The sky opened up, unleashing a torrent of rain coming down on Maybeck and Jess. Neither of them said a word, just stared at the other, angrily.

"That's your problem," Maybeck said, "You think you see everything! But you don't. No one likes you, Jess. You're too weird and different. You stand out. People don't like that." Maybeck had to yell to be heard over the rain.

"You, like almost everyone at our school are too slow to comprehend that being different isn't an insult. You all let certain people walk all over you and you turn into their little clones. They don't care about you. They don't like you, and you're all just a band of backstabbers who come together to try and make others feel inferior. But guess what? The jokes on you. Because while you're there fighting more than the cast of Jersey Shore, we actually have real friends, and we're all sitting back laughing in your faces when your petty games blow up in your face! You think you're popular and that everyone likes you but really no one does!" Jess shot back, screaming. She wasn't sure if it was rain or tears falling on her face, but she didn't care. It felt good to yell, to lose it, finally. To say whatever she wanted to say, what was on her mind.

"You are so pathetic," hissed Maybeck, "You're just a little wannabe who's still pissed that Rob dumped you for Alexa!" Jess would've laughed if she wasn't so angry, wasn't so worked up.

"Oh of course! Rob. Everyone thought I was in love with him, blah blah blah. That just proves how ignorant you are! If you stopped to look at the details for one second, you'd realize I broke up with him. Just like Alexa broke up with you. Hm, wonder why she did that? Maybe because she's a hit it and quit it girl and she doesn't have the time for stupid, ignorant, posers." Jess bellowed. She didn't think she had ever screamed that loud. Her face was hot and her lungs were sore, like she'd just held her breath underwater for ten minutes. Her head was reeling and she felt dizzy with anger, or as they used to call it at school "stupid mad". Jess spun around and half stomped half ran to the castle, priding herself on getting in one last jab.

* * *

><p>"What do you think he's saying?" Philby asked Finn.<p>

"I don't know. But whatever you can say about Maybeck, you can't say he's not brave," Finn replied. The girls rolled their eyes. Well, except for Amanda, who got kind of a dreamy look in her eye. She had thought it was so brave of him to spook that crocodile like that.

"Okay can we just focus on the information we found out?" Willa asked, "I mean we know they're trying to get Overtakers on the ship, but the question is why. Why is the Magic so important to them? Why do they care about stealing that specific ship?"

"Willa's right," Charlene said, turning towards the boys, "We have to think about everything we learned and try to put the pieces together." Boom. The ground shook with thunder, while lightning cracked loud. It sounded close. Amanda looked worried.

"I wonder if they're all right. Maybe we should go out there and get them," she said. Philby snorted.

"And you think Jess would actually come?" He asked. Amanda glared at him.

"Shut up. I didn't see any of you volunteering to go down there and get her. Maybeck was the only one brave enough," Amanda snapped. Finn looked over at her, worried that that was a jab at him. The fact that she had called Maybeck brave hadn't escaped his notice either.

"I'm sure they're fine," soothed Charlene. They heard the door open. Walking up the steps was Jess, sopping wet. Her eyes were red. Amanda ran over to her.

"Are you all right? You must be freezing. Where's Maybeck?" she said, looking over Jess' shoulders.

"Who cares?" Jess said, trying to make her voice sound indifferent. They heard the door bang again. Maybeck came upstairs, even wetter than Jess, if that was possible.

"Are you both all right?" Willa asked.

"I am," said Jess speaking only for herself and turning to glare at Maybeck

"Oh I am too," he said smoothly, fighting to keep the edge out of his voice. He had to act like nothing was wrong, or he would give away what he was about to do next, "In fact," he continued, "I'm better than all right. I'm great, actually."

* * *

><p>Maybeck was so mad as he had watched Jess leave. Maybe what she said was true, but he was too angry to even consider that option. As he walked to get to the Castle dining room he made a decision. He was going to prove Jess wrong. He was smart enough to know that Amanda had been all over him all night. And she was hot, in that innocent girl kind of way. In the back of his mind, something was telling him not to, but at that moment, he honestly didn't care. He was all riled up. He was going to make Jess eat her words. As he came into the room, the expected questions were asked. Once he and Jess had been given towels, (they found some in the back), he put his plan to action.<p>

"You know, Amanda," He said slyly, "You're pretty cool. I was wondering if you wanted to maybe hang out sometime?"

"Maybeck," Amanda said, blushing, "Are you asking me out?"

"Yeah," he said winking. He looked out of the corner of his eye to see what Jess' reaction was. She had a bored and tired look on her face, remaining seemingly indifferent. What he didn't catch was Finn's gaze burning into his back. Finn was so confused. But, he kind of felt bad for Maybeck. There was no way she would say yes to him. He and Amanda kind of had a thing…or so he thought.

"I'd love to go on a date with you," she said smiling, her cheeks burning, "We can catch a movie or something. Finn's eyes went wide with fury. Maybeck tried not to wince. Not that he didn't want to date her but because he secretly hated movie dates, at least as a first date. It was so…boring and such an obvious set up for making out.

"Great," he said, "How about Friday?" he asked. She nodded. "I'll call you or something."

He looked over once more to see Jess' reaction, but she was squeezing her hair, trying to get the water out. She appeared not to care. He couldn't help but feel just a tad disappointed she wasn't getting all worked up at the thought of him dating her sister. Didn't she care? Philby, meanwhile was discreetly trying to consol Finn.

"Better luck next time, mate," He whispered softly. Meanwhile, Willa glanced one time at Finn, then went over to help Jess dry her clothes off. Charlene, however, had her eyes narrowed and was staring intently at Maybeck.

"It's no use!" said Jess, "I can't go back to sleep with wet clothes. Mrs. Nash'll know something's up for sure. Willa thought for a moment then seemed to brighten.

"We can switch clothes. If you get dressed really quick, she won't notice," She suggested. Jess smiled appreciatively.

"She won't notice anyways. She doesn't really care about our clothes and stuff. Thank you so much," Jess said. Everyone waited for them to go into the bathroom and change outfits. 6 minutes later, they were all huddled around the return.

"We'll get in contact later to discuss what happened," Finn said. Everyone nodded. Finn stuck out his finger and pushed the button. Everything went black.


	12. Getting Ready

A/N: I know I haven't written in a long time, and I know it's shirt. I don't know if anyone still wants me to finish but even if not I'm determined to. I'm gonna be posting chapters more often. Thank you for all the nice reviews and please keep them coming because they remind me to write!

* * *

><p>Although skeptical about the date idea, Charlene had, reluctantly, decided to help Amanda get ready for her date, on the condition that she didn't go overboard. Jess was not exactly speaking to Amanda and had opted not to go to Charlene's house. Willa, claiming to be caught up in homework, although really she was trying to have some alone time with Philby, had also decided not to join Charlene and Amanda.<p>

"Charlene! What am I going to do? What if I mess up? What if he kisses me?" Amanda asked, pacing slowly back and forth in her room, while Amanda once again scanned Charlene's closet.

"Then kiss him back," Charlene said calmly, as if Amanda was dense, casually flipping the cover of a magazine.

"But what if my breath stinks," Amanda asked, continuing to pace back and forth. Charlene reached on her night stand, grabbed a box of Tic-Tacs, and lightly chucked them at Amanda, hitting her in the forehead. Amanda stopped mid-step for a minute, narrowed her eyes, and stared at Charlene, who had gone back to scanning her magazine. Amanda, not having the patience for a proper "stare down" simply rolled her eyes, and bent down to pick up the box of Tic-Tacs that were dropped on the floor, and tucked them lightly in her jeans pocket.

"Ohkaaay," said Amanda. She began pacing again then shrieked, "But what if I'm a bad kisser?"

Charlene rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess you won't know until you try," She said like a mother talking to her child. This didn't help to calm Amanda.

"Oh but if I'm bad, he'll tell EVERYONE!" she shrieked, pacing faster and faster, "Then everyone'll make fun of me and I'll forever be known as 'The girl who's a bad kisser'!" said Amanda. Charlene sighed, and put her magazine down momentarily, realizing this would take longer than she expected. "You kissed Finn, didn't you? How is this any different?" She asked. Amanda blushed.

"Well he caught me on a sneak attack so I wasn't really thinking about it. And it was a spell, so it wasn't a real kiss. I felt like he shocked me and then I was knocked unconscious. Hardly a first kiss, so we're just gonna not count that as my first," said Amanda, slightly embarrassed.

" So. Just do what Finn did to you," commanded Charlene. Amanda's face grew hot.

"But…I mean…with Finn….I mean there wasn't any…I mean…Charlie, we're going to the movies," She stammered. Everyone knew what that meant. Everyone knew movie dates were the ones you picked when you wanted to make-out. Not just kiss, but full on make out. With tongue. And Amanda sure as heck had never done that. She'd only suggested the movies because movie dates just seemed normal for a first date. She hadn't considered what would be implied. Charlene nodded slowly, not responding, though understanding what Amanda meant. Amanda, meanwhile, stood up and started hyperventilating. "UGGGHHH! CHARLENE!" she gasped, in her moment of panic. Charlene got up from her bed and grabbed Amanda's shoulders.

"Get a grip, girl. Just kiss and move your tongue around a little and you'll be fine, okay? And you don't have to kiss him you know," Charlene said sternly, slowly letting go of her shoulders. Amanda stood still for a second, shocked.

"But…but…I want to," Amanda said in a small voice. Charlene sighed loudly and threw her hands up, exasperated. She snatched up her magazine from where it was perched, and flopped back down on her bed, thinking she couldn't wait until this date was over, although she was suspicious for Maybeck's motives for asking Amanda on a date. She was convinced that he liked Jess, and something just wasn't right about this date.

* * *

><p>Finn, meanwhile, was in a state of sadness. Not blatant and obvious sadness, but the kind of sadness that only people who really knew you could recognize. He was currently over Philby's house. They were supposed to be working out Keeper stuff, but Finn had soon gotten side-tracked, knowing Maybeck and Amanda's date was that day. Philby, not one who was good with feelings and comforting, was feeling awkward and helpless, not knowing what to say to console the boy, while simultaneously trying to think of the best way to get him to leave. He really wanted to see Willa, but realized he couldn't just shoo Finn away.<p>

"Look mate," Philby said finally, "I think we should just call it quits for today," he said gently. Finn looked at him and nodded, thinking that Philby was just being Philby and wanted to get back to a science experiment or something.

"You're probably right," he said nodding, moving towards the door.

"We can Skype or something with the others later. I'll text you," he said, feeling a little bad. Finn nodded once, then hopped on his bike silently, and left.

* * *

><p>"What? Aunt Jelly, you can't be serious!" Maybeck screeched. He had just finished getting ready for his date and walked downstairs to find Jess downstairs cleaning up. His Aunt narrowed his eyes at him.<p>

"Terry I am beyond serious. Jess is a sweet girl. She's a good artist, and all she's asking for in return for helping out is for me to help with her drawing!" Hissed Maybeck's Aunt, frowning at him, "I can't even get you to work for that price," she said. Maybeck grumbled under his breath, then looked across the room at Jess, who was busying tidying things up and helping customers. Maybeck turned back to his Aunt, not liking the way he loved how the sun hit her.

"But Aunt Jelly, we don't need any help! I help out enough!" He protested, trying to think of something that would get Jess out of his Aunt's shop.

"Well frankly I could use the help. I can't move around as fast as I used to and Jess is a hard worker. She's very nice, and I feel bad for her, the poor child having to live in a foster home. She's working here and that's final, you hear? Not one more word about it or you're not going out tonight," She said sternly to him. He sighed dramatically then nodded. "Good," she said with a brisk nod, and then walked away to ring up the last few customers. Maybeck grudgingly looked up again at Jess, who hadn't so much as glanced his way. He wasn't sure if she wasn't aware that he was there, or if she was just ignoring him, but he wasn't sure whether he wanted to know or not. Deciding he hated when his presence wasn't known, he decided to go over there and mess with her, He took a step, then stopped. He loved how the window light hit her, the sun's glowing making her look even more exotic. That plus her simple, but colorful, outfit was perfect. He didn't know what possessed him to do it, but he couldn't stop. His Aunt was an artist, after all, and he couldn't help but not take advantage of this opportunity. He ran upstairs, grabbed his sketch pad (He liked tagging his name and doodling stuff), and peeked down the stairway, sitting himself on a step towards the middle, and hoping Jess and his Aunt didn't see him. He sat there for what only felt like a few minutes but realistically was about an hour. By the time he was done, his hands were sore from drawing and holding up the sketch pad. He looked down once and smiled. Looking up again, his eyes caught the clock. His eyes widened in realization.

"Shit," he cursed softly under his breath. He scrambled back up to his room, threw the sketchpad down, almost disgusted with himself, then grabbed his cell phone and quickly charged down the stairs and out the back door. He was late for his date. And the worst part was, he wouldn't have even minded if he's just skipped it and sketched Jess all day. And that was the scariest thought he could think of, at the moment.


	13. Changes in the air

Amanda sat in her room, quietly, her eyes shut tightly in sadness. Jess looked down on her from her bunk, thought about going down to console her, but decided against it, going back to mindlessly sketching. Yes, she was still mad at Amanda for being stupid enough to go on the date with Maybeck, but it was more that she didn't even know what to say, because she didn't even know what the problem was. She'd thought for sure Amanda would come home chipper from her date. She'd seen Maybeck slip out the door of the extremely late, but she'd thought they'd moved the times or something. She'd really only taken that job to improve her drawing skills. If she could learn how to draw better and faster, she might be able to get more of the picture when she had her little "dreams". But, when Maybeck had come downstairs late, she'd figured they were just staying out later, and more times at the movies meant more time doing…things. More time that Amanda would have spent with Maybeck. She looked down at her drawing pad to see that she'd accidentally snapped the tip of her pencil off, lost in her angry thoughts. She sighed, crawling down the ladder of the bunk and sitting on the side of Amanda's bed, figuring she should just get it over with. She looked at Amanda all curled up in a ball, tears running down her eyes, and she immediately felt bad. "Mandy," she said softly. "What's wrong?" she asked. Amanda rolled over, looking up at her.

"It was awful," she said, sadly, rolling over to look at Jess. When Jess looked at her earnestly, she took that as a sign to explain. "He got there late, for starters," she said. "So when went in the movie had already started. I-I thought it was because he'd just gotten tied up with something helping his Aunt, so I didn't think it was a big deal. But when we got there," she blushed. "I- uh kept dropping hints that I wanted to kiss him. He seemed not to notice, but eventually, we did." she said, her face beet red. Jess rolled her eyes, trying to kept from giggling. Amanda was so innocent it was comical.

"I'm not really seeing the problem here, Mandy…" she said softly. "Did you not like it?" she asked, confused, Amanda buried her face in a pillow.

"Apparently HE didn't," she said, loudly, winning the interest of a few of the other girls. Jess gave them a look and they quickly turned back to what they were doing. Jess, with her intense eyes and knowing looks scared them yet almost drew them to her, but Jess was more of a loner. However, Jeannie's gaze lingered, shameless snooping.

"Is there something you needed, Jeannie. If not you can go back to oggling your Finn Whitman poster," she said, harsher than she meant to. Jeannie blushed and turned away. Jess had been in a bad mood for days and she realized she'd probably have to apologize later. She turned to Amanda. "Continue," she said, cocking her head to the side.

"After it was over, he said that I was cool and 'hot' and all, but He liked someone else so it wouldn't ever work out," she said, softly. Jess narrowed her eyes, her anger bubbling inside of her. Because you don't just suddenly realize you like someone on a date with a different person. "And then.. h-he said maybe I should try to work things out with Finn," she said angrily.

"What's wrong with Finn?" Jess asked, curious why Amanda had suddenly gone all "anti-finn".

"He- well he. He's so guarded. He's not brave at all, he doesn't even have the courage to ask me out himself," she hissed. Jess closed her eyes, placing her hands on the bridge of her nose, like a tired mother. This was gonna take a while.

* * *

><p>Jess was flying down the hallway, her face hard, her jaw set. So what if it was her study hall? So what if she wasn't technically going to her locker like the pass said she was. She turned abruptly into the lunchroom, scanning it until she found the table that Maybeck was sitting at. She walked up behind him, hearing his conversation as he walked.<p>

"She was just all over me. And she was definitely hot. But I told her, I said, this isn't gonna work out, baby. I can't be tied down," he said cockily. Jess' hands were shaking with anger.

"Oh did you now?" Jess said, in fake sweetness, "Because Amanda tells me a different story about what happened," she said hotly. Maybeck's eyes widened and he turned around sheepishly, trying not to look to meek in front of his friends. "What's up, Jess. Didn't see you there…" he said coolly Jess rolled her eyes.

"Obviously, or else you would've had the sense to hold your tongue," she said, crossing her arms across her chest and cocking an eyebrow. She looked furious and Maybeck was freaking out. Out of the corner of her eye, Jess could see Rob checking her out, whish irritated her even more.

"Look I was just telling the guys what went down between me and Amanda at the movies," he said, determined not to look lame in front of his friends.

"The only place any of that went down was in your dreams," Jess said, angrily. Was he serious right now? Didn't he think Amanda would've told her the whole thing. "Hey ladies man. Who's that other girl you're in love with? Because apparently the reason you decided you didn't want Amanda was because you were going soft for some other chick," she said, harshly. Maybeck looked at his friends as if to say "oh isn't she a crazy", but his performance fell short.

"Please, Jess. Me? Getting soft? Never," he said, but he glanced nervously at his friends. She gave an icy smirk.

"Yeah, soft. Oh, but then I guess you're not getting soft. You ARE soft. You're just too much of a poser for anyone to notice," she said hotly, earning an "oooooooo" from Maybeck's friends.

"Dude, are you gonna take that?" Asked Rob, although he managed to toss a wink at Jess. Jess gagged. Maybeck, however was getting riled up, egged on by his friends.

"You'd like it to be you, wouldn't it," he said, airily. "If you're in love with me Jess, just say so. You may be sorta weird but you're pretty and-" But Jess cut him off by landing a slap across his jaw. The guys at his table gasped. She walked away angrily, her face hot with rage and her mind racing. He held his jaw, then quickly followed after her. "What the hell?" he screeched. She turned around.

"Don't push me, Maybeck. I'm this close to punching you in the face," she said loudly, her hair hitting her in the face. He glared at her.

"What? Amanda was all over me. You saw it. You know you did. That night I asked her out," he cringed at himself just a bit, remembering the night in the rain. Not exactly a pleasant memory.

"Are you an idiot?" she snapped. "The only reason she asked you out was because she wanted to be kissed, anyone can see that. Just watch. She'd gonna end up with Finn again, once Finn actually grows some balls…although…that could take a while. But the point is, you were nothing more than a warm-up,' She said sharply.

"Is that so?" Maybeck asked.

"It's what I just said, isn't it. Or have you lost the ability to listen, just like you lost the ability to pull up your pants," she snapped. Maybeck snorted, ignoring the dig at how low his pants were. She did it all the time.

"OH please. You were fuming that it wasn't you my lips were all over," he said, with a wink and an eye-cock.

"That's sick," she said.

"Kissing?" he asked. "What is this? The 3rd grade?"

"No, kissing you," she said, raising an eyebrow. They heard a bumping noise coming from one of the classrooms. Jess frowned, confused, and looked around. Maybeck, hearing footsteps coming towards them, ducked them right on the inside cove of an empty girls bathroom. He placed his hand over her mouth to keep her from asking questions, as she leaned against the wall, while he leaned in front of her, in a protective position. They both strained to hear.

"Delivered in a week," one voice said.

"Impossible. There's no way," another said.

"We MUST," said the first voice. "The rewards will be plenty," they said, logically.

"But how're we gonna get this to," the second one said, pausing. "The…boss," he said finally, as though holding back .

"They have ways you would only dream of," said the first voice knowingly. "C'mon let's scram". As soon as they'd left the area, Maybeck let go of Jess' mouth to find a trail of saliva on his hand.

"Ewwwww, that's disgusting," Maybeck whined, grabbing a paper towel.

"Tell me about it," Jess said, annoyed. "Who knows where your hands have been". She looked around, looking at their position and blushing just a tad. She tried to cover it up, though. "Get off of me," she snapped. "Why are you in the girls bathroom?" she asked, trying not to laugh. Maybeck looked sheepish.

"It was the first place I could find to hide," he said, not meeting her eyes. "C'mon," he said, pulling her out of the bathroom. Jess followed.

"You know you're apologizing to Amanda, she said, sharply to him. He ran his hand through his hair sheepishly and nodded.

"Yeah I was kind of a jerk, huh?" He asked.

"Wow, finally some knowledge has soaked through that thick skull," she said, sarcastically.

"Shut up," he said, cracking a smile.

* * *

><p>"Not to be rude but why are we here?" asked Mrs. Philby. Finn's mother sighed, wondering if she had the patience to deal with this woman. Mrs. Philby, Maybeck's Aunt Jelly, Mrs. Turner, and Mrs. Angelo were all gathered in Mrs. Whitman's living room, having mysteriously called them there. They were sitting on the coach facing her, and looking on intently. Mrs. Whitman sighed. "Yes, of course, Gladis," she said. "I wanted you all here to talk about our children and their, ahem, adventures," she said, for better lack of word. Maybeck's Aunt Jelly nodded intently. Philby's mother froze. Charlene's mother was nodding vigorously and smiling. Willa's mother looked tense. "I think it's be in our best interest to team up with each other. Our kids need us now more than ever," she pressed on, a bit nervously. "This is new to. This is new to all of us. But I truly think if we work together, maybe we can help them some way some how," Mrs. Whitman finished rather lamely. It was quiet for a moment, but at last, Maybeck's Aunt spoke up.<p>

"I agree with you," she said, after a moment. "I love Maybeck more than anything. We're all each other has," she said, her getting thick for a moment. "There's no way to stop this and I don't wanna lose him. I think this is for the best," she said wisely, nodding. Mrs. Whitman thought she might cry at how touching that was to her. Charlene's mother stood, next.

"I've seen how nice and lovely those kids are," she said, smiling. "They work amazingly as a team and I think we will too," she said, simply. "I'm in," she said. Willa's mom came next, almost immediately after Charlene's.

"I'm 'in' as well," she said, smiling. "I always wanted to be a part of my Willa's adventures," she said, a little excited. They all looked over at Philby's mom. She hesitated. She'd never had many friends. In school she'd been teased for being a 'nerd'. But they were sort of in this together now, like it or not. They could either fight, turning against each other and putting their kids in danger, or unite and become a force, for what could ever be stronger than mom power?

"I'll do it," she decided firmly, going up to shake their hands. Mrs. Turner looked at her hand for a moment then giggled. She wrapped her arms around the other woman, pulling her in for a hug.

"Group hug," she said, happily, smiling. With that, all the moms gathered rather awkwardly in for a hug but as they embraced, it somehow didn't feel awkward in the slightest. They pulled away from each other. "This calls for a cool name," Mrs. Turner announced, happily.

"Mom's united?" Mrs. Whitman tossed out.

"Keeper moms," Mrs. Angelo tried.

"Mathematic mamacitas?" said Mrs. Philby. They all paused and looked at her then at each other. And then, they all burst out laughing like gossiping teen girls. After that, they spent the rest of the afternoon gabbing and getting to know each other until they each had to go to their respective homes. It was only once they left that Mrs. Whitman realized they never did come up with a name for themselves.

* * *

><p>Finn was extremely confused. He knew Dillard had been avoiding him. But he didn't know why. He thought they were becoming friends again, hanging out more. He was even considering making him into a DHI so he wouldn't have to feel so left out anymore. But every time he'd tried to talk to him, he's found an excuse to leave him. As the last bell rang, he happened to catch Dillard in the hallway, walking off. "He Dillard," he called out. Dillard took one look back to see who called him, then walked hurriedly outside. Finn followed him at a jog, easily catching up to him. Running was not one of Dillard's strong suits.<p>

"Go away," Dillard snapped. Finn frowned.

"Hey, what's the deal with you blowing me off," he asked, getting straight to his point.

"Doesn't feel too great, huh?" snapped Dillard. "Why don't you ask one of your Keeper friends," he sneered. Finn was even more puzzled. He'd always known Dillard to be a little jealous of him, but not this much.

"What the hell, Dill? Don't be like that," Finn said.

"I said go away," he said, looming angrily over him and narrowing his eyes. "You think you're so much better than me," he said. _Eyes,_ Finn realized. Dillard's eyes were green. Finn's eyes widened in shock in horror. It couldn't be, it just couldn't. Dillard was his best friend, he'd never do that. "Go away," Growled Dillard again, in a voice Finn had never heard him use before. Finn, knowing this wouldn't be going anywhere but bad, walked over to the bike rack, hoping on his bike, and peddling away, quickly.

Finn walked into his kitchen calling out to his mother. "Hey mom, home from school," he said, as he sat down at the kitchen table, a snack waiting for him and his mother there to greet him. She was practically glowing. "You're sure in a good mood," he observed. She looked happier than she had in years.

"Just got lots of sleep last night, I guess," she said, smiling. She pulled out an envelope and placed it in front of him on the table. "This came for you today," she said. "From Disney," she added, wiping her hand on her apron as she got started on dinner. She began cutting vegetables. Finn eyed the envelope, nervously, wondering if he'd gotten in trouble. Maybe he'd finally been spotted at the park? He eyed it closer, seeing that it'd been opened before him.

"Y'know it's illegal to open someone else's mail, mom," he said.

"My house, my mail," she replied simply, still cutting vegetables.

"Fair enough," he responded with a shrug, opening it up. It was a form stating something. They were on the search for 2 new Keepers to add to the group, to be placed in affect immediately. The original 5 were such a big hit that they wanted to add more, so they'd be able to allow more tours. It was a big business opportunity for Disney. They requested the Keepers be there when auditioning for people so they could get a feel of who'd really fit into the group. Finn's stomach dropped at that. What if the new Keeper was in OT in disguise? What if they crossed over as well like Finn and the others? They didn't have time to add new people into the dynamic. They were a close knit group as it was and there wasn't time to explain everything to some newbies. The next note was simply asking the Keepers to shoot a new video to advertise the theme parks. They'd just be filming in Magic Kingdom for now. It promised lots of money for them, something his mother was obviously ecstatic about. The new Keepers would need to be picked that Friday as the video was to be shot Saturday. Finn sighed, running up to his room to call his friends about this event. This was not going to go well.

"Finn wash your hands, sweetie," his mother called after him. "Dinner's in an hour," she said, smiling and humming to herself.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I swear I'm not giving up on this story! I've been really busy yada yada yada you know how it goes. But now I have a new idea for them and I"m really excited for you to see it! Please read and tell me what you think! I'm gonna try to get this chapter done this weekend! But feel free to pester me, because I can get lazy and forget. You can always send me a little ask on my tumblr. It's : .com**


	14. Changes, Auditions, and Kisses, oh my

**A/N So some surprises in this one. I know you guys think I gave up and I almost did but people kept following and reviewing and emailing and I decided, I really don't wanna quit so yeah! Reviews are more than welcome so I know there are still people wanting to read this! Thanks guys, enjoy.**

* * *

><p>"This is not going to work," hissed Finn.<p>

"Oh lighten up, finny boy," said Maybeck. "It'll work just fine," he snapped.

"Next," called the casting director. The 5 keepers were currently sitting in a row behind a big table by the sorcerer's hat in Hollywood Studios, where a line with tons of prospective new DHI's were. Thanks to Wayne, he'd arranged for the Keepers to be in on casting the 2 new Keepers, saying that they needed to like them and work well with them so they would look like they fit in. And that's when Maybeck had gotten an idea. What if they acted like they didn't like the strangers and freaks and then planted someone they knew and trusted to audition? Then they could pick them. Finn was reluctant at first, but everyone else thought it was sheer genius. Which, it kind of was. Maybeck was relishing in the victory and the fact that, for once, Finn wasn't the "leader", the one that got it all. It was Maybeck time and he was going to ham it up every minute. Maybeck was, not surprisingly, very good at finding reasons not to pick someone. Willa and Finn were reluctant to be so picky at first but after a while, even they were getting into the spirit.

The next girl that popped up could be immediately identified as a die-hard Keepers fanatic. She was bouncing a little where she was standing and had a picture of all the Keepers. "Ah! I can't believe I'm actually here with the Keepers! Are the stories true? Can you guys sign this? Do you really have secret super powers. How do you battle the villains? Can I help? Can I watch? Finn are you single?" she said, all the words spilling out of her mouth quickly. The other 4 Keepers snorted at Finn's bright red face and baffled expression. The casting director, Andrew, looked really annoyed. He lifted up his mega phone to his lips.

"All right I'm not going to tell you again! This is not a meet and greet! Only for if you would like to be a new Keeper! Anyone who doesn't, please step out of line," he said, agitated. No one moved. "The next fan that steps up here and doesn't plan on auditioning will be evacuated by park security," he added. A few people's faces looked shocked and some wavered, not sure if he was bluffing, then nearly half the line moved out of line and joined the fray of people walking leisurely around the parks. Andrew leaned back in his director's chair and wiped his brow. Out of control fans were tough to deal with. "Next!" He called, aggravated and a bit annoyed and impatient at how picky the kids were being. It was like sitting with 5 Simon Cowells at American Idol auditions.

Next, stepped up an exotic looking girl. She was wearing a very cute pink wrap skirt and tank top, with a flower in her hair to finish off the unique look. She was not one for just throwing on Hollister tee-shirts and a pair of short shorts. It was clear she didn't mind standing out and there was something mysterious and exotic about her. Her hair was currently died a strawberry blonde, with pink and blue dyed curls at the tips. "Hi my name is Jess and I'm a Freshmen in high school," She pronounced loud and clear, as if she'd done this before. Maybeck couldn't help but let a small smile spread across his lips, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Charlene.

"Hello Jess. We're Freshmen too," Finn said, somewhat robotically and Philby elbowed him. Acting and lying were not his strong suits. He couldn't give them away. Jess nodded at Finn slowly, as if he were an idiot.

"Hey Finn," Maybeck muttered out of the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah?" Finn asked earnestly.

"If this Keeper thing doesn't work out, never become an actor," he quipped. Willa snorted at the comment then shrugged when Finn gave her a "look".

"C'mon, Finn, you're not a good liar," she whispered, teasingly.

"What! I could be! I'm good at lying," he protested in a low voice. Maybeck and Willa just looked at each other and giggled. Jess seemed not to have noticed the exchange and Willa continued with her "audition".

"So, Jess," Willa said, leaning her elbows on the table. "Tell us a bit about yourself," she said.

"Well, I grew up as an orphan so the money would mean a lot to us. It was tough growing up without mom and dad," she said, making her eyes rounder. "But me and my sister made it through and we currently live in a foster home," she continued on in a happier tone. "I like singing and dancing and I play the piano. I'm also a pretty good artist," she continued. Maybeck looked up.

"You can sing? Would you mind singing something for us?" he asked. Willa shot him a questioning look which he answered back with a sly smile and a finger to his lips. Andrew had no idea what was going on, just that this was the longest the Keepers had talked to an auditioner since they started. Andrew put a star next to her name. Jess, on the other hand, shot Maybeck a dirty look. This was not part of the plan.

"Well of course," she said, through clenched teeth. "What would you like me to sing?" she asked him, sharply. He remained having an overly innocent smile. "Anything," he said with a wink. She was good and he knew it. Although, she didn't know he knew it. But whatever. It would impress Andrew. Jess sighed then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She belted out the first few bars of "Who You Are" by Jessi J like a pro. When she stopped and opened her eyes, the Keepers, all except Maybeck, were left speechless.

"Whoa," said Andrew, equally impressed. "You got a voice on you hun," he said, nodding approvingly.

"Keeper conference!" called Willa and the Keepers huddled up and pretended to debate in hushed tones before coming out of the huddle and folding their arms on the table.

"Congratulations, Jess," said Charlene, peppily. "You're a new Keeper!" she exclaimed loudly. She heard a groan and protests erupt from the crowd behind them and Jess smirked.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" protested Andrew. "Shouldn't we audition everyone and then decide," he said. He was still director of this, damnit and these kids should be listening to him, right?

"Oh sure. We'll just got through everyone until we make positively certain we like, or don't like, them," Willa said. "Even if it takes hours and hours. Or days," she added. Andrew's face clearly showed he didn't want that to happen. He sighed.

"Congratulations to our new Keeper Jess," he called into the mega phone and Jess cheered.

"Just don't get to high maintenance," Maybeck joked and Jess stuck her tongue out, stifling a laugh. This was something all 4 of the other Keepers observed, even Finn. A seat was produced for Jess to sit by the other Keepers while auditions continued. The air had become more frantic. Many girls were eyeing Jess, trying to figure out what exactly she possessed that had gotten her chosen to be a Keeper. A lot of the people were just desperate, doing anything and everything to try and get one of the Keeper's approval, including flirting with Maybeck and Finn. A few of the guys oggled Charlene but if anything that just made their situation worst. Charlene definitely had a fiesty side and didn't take well to guys treating her like a piece of meat. Her self respect had doubled in size since she'd stopped trying to compete for Finn's attention when his eyes were so obviously on Amanda's.

Again, another girl stepped up. This one with brown hair and blonde highlights. She dressed simply in jean shorts and a Disney World T-shirt but she caught their eyes immediately. She was striking, like a model. She was exotic-looking like Jess but not in a way that hit you right away. But one that made you do a double take. "Hello I'm Amanda," she said, sweetly. Finn smiled at her, though Amanda didn't really notice. She was a little nervous about this plan and wasn't as naturally good at it as Jess was.

"Nice shirt," said Willa, smiling at the girl.

"Thanks," Amanda said, not feeling as shy. These were her friends after all. And things had gone smoothly with Jess.

"What are your hobbies?" asked Philby.

"Scholastic Decathalon, Cooking, and Volleyball," she recited, almost mechanically but not quite. Finn kept trying to catch her gaze but never could. Was that a coincidence or was she avoiding him? What had he done? He wanted to talk to her about the whole Maybeck thing. Were they a couple now? They weren't acting like a couple. She shook his head to try and clear his mind. He needed to focus on the task at hand.

"Very impressive," Maybeck nodded. "Keeper conference!" he yelled again and they huddled up, once again feigning debate before pulling away. "You're in!" Maybeck said. Andrew didn't even try to fight it this time. It had been a long day and he was just happy this was over.

"All right, thank you for your time and patience however we have found all that we're looking for. Thanks and have a magically day," he said, boredly into the megaphone. Amanda clapped her hands together happily and smiled. The rest of the crowd moaned and groaned angrily. But many of them lurked around the table in case the Keepers did anything particularly "heroic" or started signing things and taking pictures.

"So what next?" Amanda asked. Andrew. None of them were really sure what would happen after they were accepted into the program.

"Well, we'll spend the rest of today and all of tomorrow and maybe even the next day, recording you and uh.." he said, motioning to Jess.

"Jess," she supplied.

"You and Jess' movements and recording sound and voice effects. With out new technology, it's expected to be easier and a little quicker than the other's recordings. Jess smiled happily. This was gonna be so fun! And they would get money. They could save it up for when they turned 18 and then go to college or get an actual job or something. They could finally be free of the fairlies. Even though they left, it haunted them. They wouldn't ever have to go back if they had their own money. "Might as well get started. You other Keepers can go. Or stay if you want I guess," he said, gruffly.

"Oh we'll hang around," Philby decided, following Andrew and the girls.

"Why exactly are we staying around?" Finn whispered to Philby softly.

"So I can observe the updated technology and figure out how they do the recordings!" he hissed. Finn frowned, clearly confused.

"Why does that matter?" he asked. Philby sighed, exasperated. Sometimes he hated having to explain himself.

"Duh Finn, so he can make more if he needs to. If the OT's are building an army then maybe so should we," Jess explained, as if he were dense. She'd fallen behind in walking and was now in step with Philby, Finn, and Charlene. "And Philby get off your damn high horse. Stop acting like you truly think everyone can follow your train of thought. We get it, you're smart, but don't go thinking you're better than everyone. We're all good at different things," she said, rolling her eyes. Philby looked a little embarrassed. He knew she was right, deep down. He shouldn't always treat his friends like they were stupid just because they had "lower IQs". Maybeck let out a soft chuckle at Jess' comment and Charlene looked at him out of the corner of her eyes. Could it _be_ anymore obvious?

* * *

><p>Surprising to everyone, the recordings were done fairly quickly. It took only about 8 straight hours. The Cast Members chalked it up to the new technology. Philby however had a different theory, which he shared with the Keepers as they exited the park. "It probably has more to do with the fact that Jess and Amanda were partially DHIs already from when I did a hasty job of changing them," he explained to the others. "That combined with the updated technology and it was a walk in the park compared to everything we had to do," he said.<p>

"Makes sense to me," Willa said, walking alongside Philby. Their hands coincidentally kept bumping into each other and Amanda smiled at the sight as did Charlene. They looked at each other and let out a fit of girlish giggles. Willa and Philby seemed to no longer notice, walking a little ahead of the group. Jess and Maybeck were in their own world arguing about who even knew what. But it wasn't in that fierce way they usually did. Something was different. And Finn walked in the middle of them feeling uncomfortable. Charlene snorted when she looked over at the trio and walked over to Finn. _Sometimes_, she decided, _boys just needed a little push in the right direction_. And that's exactly what she gave him. She pulled him from in between the arguing pair, who barely noticed his absence and before he could utter a word, launched him in the direction of Amanda, ramming them into each other and causing Finn to almost knock her down. _Oops_, she thought, sheepishly. _Well, what's done is done_.

Amanda jumped about a mile in the air as Finn rammed into her. "Oh my gosh, Finn," she said, holding onto his upper arms to keep him from falling. _When did Finn get…biceps_? "Are you all right?" she asked, her brown eyes looking down at him full of concern.

"Fine, fine," he said hurriedly, glaring at Charlene for a second who smiled innocently. He turned his attention back to Amanda. "Actually," he said, clearing his throat, his face flushing a little, "I did have something I kinda wanted to um ask you," he said. Amanda bit her lip, knowing what was coming.

"Look about um…Maybeck," she said. "We're not, you know together or anything. Our date was actually kind of a disaster," she explained, quickly. _Why did it matter so much to him? More importantly, why did it matter so much to her to set him straight_? Finn sighed with relief.

"Really?" he said, abandoning all pretense of impassiveness. Amanda bit her lip and nodded. "I mean um wow, I'm so sorry." No he wasn't.

"It's cool. I realized I didn't like him as much as I originally thought," she said. "I just liked the mirage of him you know? He's a cool guy but not really my type," she said. Finn fought the urge to ask what her type was. The just stood there for a moment, looking at each other, wanting to say something but neither having the courage. "So um," Amanda said, starting to walk again. "I feel like I haven't talked to you in forever," she said. "How have you been?" she asked. And with that, they continued a conversation and although it wasn't about much, neither wanted it to end. Charlene walked back a little. Normally she would've been jealous and eager to find a guy of her own. But there was something so…so…so beautiful about the way all of them looked, all in various stages of crushing and denial, with the sun setting and hitting them in a way that could only be described as magical. She slipped her camera out of her purse. Click. She looked down at the screen. Perfect shot. Although, she felt a bit unnerved because as she slipped her camera back in her purse, she could've sworn someone was watching her.

* * *

><p>Saturday was an early day for them but for the first time since he could remember, Finn was eager to get up early. He whizzed downstairs and gobbled down his breakfast.<p>

"Slow down speed racer," his mom said in that extremely dorky way only his mom could. Sometimes, he just had to laugh.

"Where's dad?" he asked in between bites.

"Business trip," his mother said evenly. Finn sighed.

"Again?" he grumbled. His mother wiped her hands on her apron.

"Now, now, your father's very busy. What with his new job that has him traveling more-and paid more, for that matter. It was too good an offer to turn down," she said. Finn felt guilty for thinking it, but he didn't miss his dad all that much. He knew he should've but he didn't. He loved his dad but his dad was very…strict. Even with his mother, he'd realized. The new pressure and whatnot had been getting to him and the last time he'd been there, he and his mother had been engaged in a screaming match. When Finn arrived home from soccer practice he found his frightened-looking little sister sitting on the top stair in tears. But today he wasn't going to worry about any of that. Today, he was shooting his first real advertisement and was actually rather scared about the whole thing. But something about today just had him in a good mood nonetheless. Maybe the fact that he was on great terms with Amanda as of yesterday or maybe it was that for once, things had started going right in his life. It was almost summer vacation which would mean the launch of the ship. It also meant no school, no teachers, no homework, and no morons-specifically Louowski, for a few months. As he passed the neighborhood close to his school on the way to Maybeck's whose Aunt was driving him, Maybeck and Philby, he paused. He felt someone else's presence and he whipped his head around to see Greg Louowski himself. But something felt wrong. He wasn't even paying attention. In fact, he didn't even blink at Finn. Did he even know Finn was there? He paused, not being able to resist finding out what was going on, he put his foot down on either side of his bike but kept a firm grip on the handlebars, in case he needed to bolt.

"What gives, Greg, no tricks this time," he called out to him. Greg looked at him hard. He'd known Finn had been there all along.

"Scared already, Finn-Finn?" he sneered at the boy. But despite his harsh words, Greg looked tired. Beyond tired in fact. Positively exhausted.

"You wish," he said. "The only one who looks scared is you. The old hag wearing you thin?" he taunted back, not really sure where his daring had come from. Greg scrunched up his face and like lightning he was up on Finn. Finn, realizing that he was in no situation to out-bike him flinched and shut his eyes, bracing himself for the blow he knew was sure to come. But nothing. He waited another moment before slowly opening an eye and what he saw shocked him. Louowski was inches away from his face. Before he could stop what was happening, Greg pulled him into a big, sloppy, and less than enjoyable kiss. Finn was in sheer shock, not reacting in the slightest. He was relieved when Greg pulled away and released him and didn't even mind anymore when he shoved him down on the gravel and bolted back towards his house. Finn felt numb. He could only partially register what was happening. He pondered about it until he got to Maybeck's house and locked his bike up back.

"Dude, what's up with you? You look like you just saw a ghost," Maybeck teased. Finn wasn't sure what he'd seen anymore.

"Yeah really, man, what's up with you?" Philby asked as they slid into the car. Finn's made some noise that indicated he was at least still alive but said nothing. Philby and Maybeck frowned at each other. What was up with Finn? But Finn's head was slowly starting to slow down and his thoughts were settling into place and he thought with gloom how he could see no other logical explanation. Greg Louowsi, the guy who had been tormenting him since the 7th grade, had kissed him.


	15. A Disney Moment

A/N: Kinda short but I wanted to do a little update. SO I realized since I'm almost done with Shell Game, I was going to have this book end at the beginning of it but it's gone way AU haha so I'm just gonna keep up with the AU thing and I have a few more big changes in store so enjoy!

* * *

><p>Charlene Turner was in her element, having the time of her life. She was happy beyond belief and she couldn't believe how amazing everything was. She couldn't believe she was actually getting paid to run around Disneyworld with some of her best friends. Oh sure, there were lines and things involved, but who cared? She was going be on T.V. But even she wasn't better than Jess. The camera loved the girl, she was a true natural and everyone on set was highly impressed. She tried to pretend like it wasn't that big a deal to her but honestly she couldn't hide that she was loving it. The concept of the video was simple: They were your everyday kids with the Disney park mostly to themselves, with only some guests around. Fun of course ensued as they goofed around. Rode the rides, messed with each other and just went wild. At first, they stuck to the script which at times was slightly out-dated. But as the day progressed, they ad-libbed more and more. Maybeck and Willa put on some masks and popped out, scaring Amanda and Philby. Then Charlene and Jess found Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck (the cast members in costumes), and started dancing with them, giggling as they went along with it. Jess And Maybeck were seen battling each other for the highest score on Buzzlightyear's Star Command (They tied to the relief of the others). Finn gave Amanda a piggy-back ride through Fantasyland and Amanda was happy about that, for more reasons than one. Earlier in the morning, he'd been acting a little…off to her. But now he seemed happier than he'd been in a while. The crew and director even got Jess to sing a little something for them and they were blown away. She couldn't help but beaming at that.<p>

But the best part of the day was probably towards the end, right before the last shot. Philby and Willa shared a moment of cuteness as the cast members who played the princes and princesses made her an "Honorary Disney Princess" and making Philby her Prince Charming, which he blushed beet red about but didn't object in the slightest. All the princesses lined up under the steps in front of the castle, where the "Dream Along With Mickey" show took place and the Fairy Godmother came out to "Officiate" things. Willa stood smiling broadly as she stepped out of the castle in the prettiest purple dress she'd ever seen, with hints of gold on it. Philby was dressed in one of the extra "Prince" outfits. He escorted her outside of the palace as everyone else stood in the audience, including the Keepers.

She started with Philby, walking over to him. "With this crown, I do now pronounce King Philby, the smart and skilled," She said, smiling at him and placing a golden crown on his head. He kneeled, as she put it on him and stood carefully. She then made her way to Willa and smiled kindly. "And I do now proclaim you an honorary Disney Princess for the day: Princess Willa, the brave and kind," she said, waving her pretend wand and taping it on each of her shoulders as Willa gave a curtsy, bowing her head a little as a gold tiara was put on her head. Willa beamed. As the tiara was placed there, she felt hot breath on her neck. "See, dear child. You don't need dark magic and all that to make you what you already are: beautiful," she heard her say softly in her ear. Willa turned her head, shocked. She saw a glimmer in the woman's eyes. It wasn't a cast member, it was the real Fairy Godmother! And as she looked up across the sea of royalty, she realized, none of them were cast members, but in fact, the real princes and princesses. Ariel gave her a little wink and a silent giggle. Willa felt a rush of joy. "And as a princess, you must never forget that," Fairy Godmother finished.

Willa looked up at the woman. "But…but this is all playing pretend, right? For the commercial?" whispered Willa. Fairy Godmother didn't answer, just looked at her with a twinkle in her eyes and indicated she should stand again.

She stepped to the side and rose her hands. "The new royal couple!" She said loudly. Everyone burst into applause and Willa took a step forward and waved at them in her best "princess wave". Philby saw the Princes out of the corner of his eye. Him being Philby, he'd figured out they were real princes the second he stepped outside by simple body language, looks, and poise. They were motioning something at him, egging him along. He gave a slight frown but saw Prince Charming pantomiming something. _A kiss_, he realized and sucked in a breath, his heart ramming in his chest. Did he dare? _True me and Willa haven't, you know, kissed yet but what if I'm not good enough or she realizes she doesn't like me or something… ,_ he thought, worriedly. But Philby realized it was better to take the chance, make the moment "perfect" and what better way than with a kiss? With a deep breath he stepped up next to Willa and took her hand, turning her body slightly and she was still smiling that gorgeous big smile she had but shot him a confused look. He didn't say a word, not trusting his voice to speak at that moment without cracking. He just pulled her in a little closer, meeting her eyes and moving his hands around her waist. She leaned in too, sensing what she hoped would happen and then their lips met. And the both felt it. A small kiss but it meant so much to both of them and changed everything. Willa's hands slid up around her neck. They pulled apart for only a second to look at each other before connecting their lips again. Their gathered crowd went wild at that, whooping and hollering and cheering and jumping.

"About time," said Charlene happily. Jess giggled and rolled her eyes.

"How romantic," sighed Amanda, putting her hand to her heart.

"Chick flick," murmured Maybeck to Finn, earning him a slap from Jess. But even he thought it was kinda cool. As Philby and Willa parted and went out to talk to their new court, holding hands, everyone circled them. What no one noticed was a pair of eyes, watching carefully from near the bridge to Frontierland.

The last shot was amazing. The kids leaving the park, chattering amongst themselves and a shot from behind. The sun was lowering in the sky, but wasn't the gorgeous pinkish color it had been the day Charlene had taken a picture. They walked in perfect sync, their arms linked and they made their way to Main Street, stopping at the pub that face the train, as all the Disney characters were there waving goodbye to them, they waved back and smiled, then continued their exit.

"Cut!" yelled the director when it was done. "Great! I think that' it! No other take needed!" he yelled through his megaphone and beamed. "Great work, Keepers," he called to them. They all smiled and laughed and high fived each other as he said that, while the cast and crew came to chat with them and congratulate them. The energy was so positive, so nice, and lifted everyone's hearts, though they weren't all sure why. They just knew today, something special happened. Sometimes special things like that only happened once in your life. Sometimes not even at all. But when they do, all you can do is slow down and bask in the glow.

* * *

><p>Jess woke up on Monday morning tired and sore. After her wonderful weekend, she didn't want to get up again and go to her school. She realized she had to though, She sighed and sat up. But something didn't feel right. Her head felt funny, she couldn't place why. She sighed.<p>

"_I wonder what I should wear. I have to look good in case Finn wants to hang out after school," _She heard Amanda say. Jess got out of bed and stood, rolling her eyes.

"Don't dress for Finn, Sis. He's already crazy about you," she said. "Just be you and if he wants to hang out, you'll probably forget all about your outfit," she said. Amanda frowned at this.

"What?" she asked.

"What do you mean what? You were just trying to look good in case Finn wants to hang out after school…" Jess said, frowning confused as well. Was she going crazy or something?

"I didn't say that…" Amanda trailed off. _"That was weird…I thought it but I'm pretty sure I didn't say a thing_," Jess heard Amanda add, but this time she realized her lips weren't moving. Jess' eyes widened.

"Wait, then how did I hear you think it…" Jess said and Amanda's eyes grew wide as well.

"J-Jess….did you just…read my mind?" she whispered.

Jess bit her lip and shrugged. "I don't know…I think so…" she said.

"_Okay can you hear this?" _Amanda thought slowly. Jess nodded.

"Yeah I can hear that," she murmured. Amanda gasped.

"Oh my gosh how did this happen?" she said in a loud whisper. Jess just shrugged. She wasn't sure if this was going to be cool or annoying. "Can you hear everyone else or just me?" Amanda wondered.

"I don't know I-," but she was cut off as Jeanie re-entered their room. The girls both froze, shutting their mouths.

Jeanie looked at them. "Don't let me interrupt your little pow-wow," she said. "I'm just getting my hair straightener. And you guys better hurry up or else you're going to be late," she said, bossily. _"Finn Whitman is soooo cute. Why couldn't I go to his school. I can't believe how amazing he is. I can't wait until that commercial comes out. I should've volunteered to be a Keeper. Then we could be Keepers together! He's like a rock star!" _Jess heard Jeanie think as she dug through her stuff and extracted what she was looking for then headed out the door. Jess stifled a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Amanda asked.

"Apparently," giggled Jess, "Finn is like a rock star and Jeanie thinks he's amazing," she said. Amanda had to crack a smile at that. Of course Jeanie would be thinking about Finn.

"So you can read everyone's minds," Amanda said. "Wow. I've always kind of wished I knew what people thought of me," she said. Jess rolled her eyes.

"Or you could be like me and not give damn," she said. "It's much more satisfying," she teased.

"Oh hush! We need to get dressed," she said. "And talk to Philby about why this is happening. If anybody knows, it'll be him, she said, shooting all the Keepers a quick text before heading to the bathroom. She turned to see Jess back in bed, her eyes shut lazily. "Get dressed!" she said, sternly.

"Okay mom," Jess said mockingly, and jumped out of bed as Amanda exited. She knew it was wrong, but she couldn't wait to start reading people's minds. Well, only some. Half of the idiot popular clones at her school would all be thinking pretty much the same dumb thing. She wasn't really sure how long she would have this power, or why she'd even gotten it in the first place, but why not make the most of it? Some kids would die to have this power, even for just a day. Yeah it might be 'morally wrong' in some people's eyes. But maybe if she could zone into Maybeck's thoughts and see if he thought about her. Her eyes widened when she realized what she was thinking. Why was she even thinking about Maybeck? She didn't like him. Yeah they were on a shaky friend basis but he was bound to act childish at school. So then…why couldn't she stop thinking about him?


End file.
